Juventus saw their unconvincing start to the season continue as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Benfica in the Champions League at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday evening, leaving them without a point in the competition.
Having lost 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in their opening game of Group H, the Bianconeri were well placed to secure their first points of the season after Arkadiusz Milik got them off to a flyer. A Benfica fightback left Massimiliano Allegri‘s side with just two wins from their first eight games in all competitions though, adding to the pressure on the coach.
Milik’s dramatic week takes another turn
With less than five minutes played, Milik met a Leandro Paredes freekick with a magnificent header to guide Juventus into the lead, with the Poland international flicking the ball home from just inside the box.
Having been sent off in a dramatic final few minutes in the 2-2 draw against Salernitana at the weekend, Milik put that behind him to show wonderful guile in the air.
Benfica threatened throughout the first half, forcing some good saves from Mattia Perin, and Rafa Silva saw an effort come back off the post.
Benfica worthy winners
However, the Portuguese club were rewarded for their efforts with a penalty shortly before the interval, as Fabio Miretti trod on Goncalo Ramos‘ foot and ex-Inter midfielder Joao Mario drilled into the roof of the net from the spot.
Benfica completed the turnaround early in the second half when Perin could only parry a Silva shot into the path of David Neres and he made no mistake in firing home.
The Eagles continued to push forward and it required an excellent Leonardo Bonucci block to deny Neres again, whilst the Brazilian was also kept out by a smart Perin save.
At the other end, Angel Di Maria almost equalised against his former club whilst fellow substitute Moise Kean struck the post from range.
Indeed, Juventus had the ball in the back of the net late on as the quiet Dusan Vlahovic turned in a Mattia De Sciglio cross from close range, but the goal was chalked off when the Italian wing-back strayed offside.
With just minutes remaining, a loose ball fell to Bremer in the box but the centre-back blazed over with the goal at his mercy, condemning Juventus to another disappointing result.
