25 July 2015
Goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus helped Borussia Dortmund to a 2-0 victory over the Bianconeri in an entertaining pre-season friendly this evening in St. Gallen.
Thomas Tuchel’s men had the better of the opening proceedings and Juventus had to rely on a superb showing from Gigi Buffon to keep their opponents at bay courtesy of four fine stops. There was, however, little the goalkeeper could do about the opener, which saw Aubameyang dispatch a crisp close-range finish into the bottom corner on 40 minutes.
The second half yielded a raft of Bianconeri changes and, despite showing decent energy levels against a side who are already into the swing of their Europa League preparations , it was Borussia who doubled their lead midway into the restart when Reus weaved his way into the penalty area before slotting a cool strike beyond substitute Neto.
For the meeting with the German club at St. Gallen’s AFG Arena, the Tuscan tactician fielded a 4-3-1-2 formation, with new signing Paulo Dybala deployed in the hole behind a front pairing of Morata and another summer recruit in Mario Mandzukic.
He also made use of the occasion to test several youth team players, as Andrés Tello was given a starting berth on the right flank, with Giulio Parodi, Alberto Cerri, Luca Clemenza and Guido Vadala all brought on in the second period.
A high octane first half produced its first shot on goal as early as the third minute, with the ball falling to an unmarked Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the 18-yard box. Buffon was equal to the Armenian international’s fierce left-footed strike, however, diving low to his left to tip it round the post.
The Bianconeri keeper was forced into another save only four minutes later, blocking Aubameyang’s close-range effort, following clever build-up down Dortmund’s left flank.
Deployed in a new-found role on the left side of attack, Alvaro Morata was proving a menace for Dortmund’s defence. The Spaniard whizzed in a dangerous cross that almost reached Martin Caceres, after the defender had made a strong run into the box.
Juventus continued to launch their best attacks down Dortmund’s right side. This time Patrice Evra delivered the ball into the middle, finding Mandzukic with only the keeper to beat. The Croatian, however, had not timed his run to perfection and the linesman rightly ruled out the resulting tap-in for offside.
Down the other end of the pitch, Buffon was being kept on his toes, tipping an Aubameyang header over the bar before getting his body behind a ferocious Kevin Kampl strike on the half-hour mark.
After weathering a heavy Borussia storm, the Bianconeri fashioned themselves a strong opportunity to open the scoring down the other end on 38 minutes. Dybala it was who sent in a pinpoint ball to Mandzukic, but the fellow debutant miscued his attempt by heading over from a matter of yards.
As a first half that had warranted goals threatened to finish without any at all, Aubameyang provided the answer on 40 minutes. Once again set up by a busy Mkhitaryan, the Gabon international finally got the better of Buffon with a thunderous strike from inside the penalty box to ensure that the German outfit went into the break with the advantage.
A raft of half-time changes from both sides broke up the rhythm of a fast-paced opening 45 minutes, with the Bianconeri intent on levelling matters quickly after substitute Giorgio Chiellini headed Claudio Marchisio’s corner just wide of the post.
Just as in the first half, however, Dortmund continued to enjoy the better of the chances, as Jonas Hoffman was denied by the feet of Neto, who had replaced Buffon between the sticks for the second period.
The Brazilian would soon be having to pick the ball out of the net, however, as Marco Reus capped off a fine run down the middle of the pitch with a clinical finish on 64 minutes.
The 26-year old keeper, also making his debut in black and white, demonstrated sharp reflexes just moments later by keeping out another close-range Hoffman effort as Borussia threatened to add to their tally.
The match drew to a close with Allegri blooding several youngsters from the club’s youth academy, who had been training with the first-team last week.
The Bianconeri’s pre-season preparations continue with next week’s visits to Poland and France for fixtures against Lechia Gdank and Olympique de Marseille respectively.
Juventus line-up: Buffon (Neto 45), Barzagli (Rugani 45), Bonucci (Parodi 76), Caceres (Lichtsteiner 45), Tello (Sturaro 45), Pogba (Vadala 80), Marchisio (Cerri 69), Evra (Chiellini 45), Dybala (Padoin 45), Mandzukic (Zaza 57), Morata (Clemenza 57)
