A wild night at the Allianz Stadium saw Juventus and Borussia Dortmund share the spoils in a breathtaking 4-4 draw to open their Champions League group stage campaign.
Dusan Vlahovic’s stoppage-time strike and a dramatic final-gasp equalizer from Kelly rescued a point for Igor Tudor’s side after the Bianconeri trailed three separate times in the second half.
Juventus started strong, with Marcus Thuram forcing a difficult save from Gregor Kobel in the opening minutes. The Italian side created several chances through Bremer, Yildiz, and Openda, but they couldn’t find a breakthrough before halftime.
The second half, however, turned into a goal fest. Karim Adeyemi opened the scoring with a sharp left-footed finish in the 52nd minute, only for Kenan Yildiz to respond with a stunning curling strike just 12 minutes later.
Borussia immediately reclaimed the lead through Felix Nmecha’s powerful shot from distance, but Vlahovic quickly leveled again with a composed finish following another brilliant play by Yildiz.
The chaos didn’t stop there. Yan Couto put Dortmund 3-2 up with a near-post strike, and Ramy Bensebaini seemed to seal the win with a penalty in the 86th minute after a VAR review for a handball by Kelly.
Yet Juventus refused to die. Vlahovic struck again in the 92nd minute to make it 4-3, before turning provider with virtually the last kick of the game, setting up Kelly to complete an extraordinary comeback.
The draw leaves both teams level on points in what promises to be a fiercely competitive group stage.
Match Report
Scorers:
- 52′ Adeyemi (B)
- 64′ Yildiz (J)
- 65′ Nmecha (B)
- 68′, 90’+2 Vlahovic (J)
- 75′ Couto (B)
- 86′ Bensebaini (B, pen.)
- 90’+5 Kelly (J)
Juventus (3-4-3):
Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Bremer, Kelly; McKennie (59′ Joao Mario), Koopmeiners (69′ Adzic), Thuram, Cambiaso; Openda (69′ Locatelli), David (60′ Vlahovic), Yildiz (86′ Zhegrova).
Coach: Tudor
Borussia Dortmund (3-4-2-1):
Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Bensebaini; Couto, Sabitzer, Nmecha (71′ Bellingham), Svensson; Adeyemi, Beier (71′ Brandt); Guirassy (90’+3 Gross).
Coach: Kovac
Referee: Letexier (France)
Yellow Cards: Anton (B)
Red Cards: None
