MY ACCOUNT
Dusan Vlahovic was left with mixed feelings about his Champions League debut after Juventus’ 1-1 draw with Villarreal.
The former Fiorentina striker found the back of the net just 32 seconds into the first leg of the last-16 tie in Spain – the fastest goal in the competition by a full debutant.
Vlahovic demonstrated tremendous instincts as he controlled Danilo’s lofted ball on his chest and slotted into the far corner past a flat-footed Geronimo Rulli.
Juventus were unable to preserve their advantage, though. Dani Parejo equalised in the 66th minute to leave the contest finely poised ahead of the second leg on March 16.
While the Serbia international was thrilled to be on target, he admitted the result took the shine off his achievement.
“It was huge to score on my debut; it was very emotional. However, I cannot be 100 per cent satisfied because we have not won the game,” he said.
“We have to keep working hard. We played a good game and we could have won.
“We tried to play well also in the second half but sometimes the opposition do not allow you to do what you want to do. So, congratulations to them for equalising.
“There are some regrets, but we must just focus on the next game.”
Meanwhile, head coach Massimiliano Allegri was left frustrated by the manner of Villarreal’s equaliser.
An unmarked Parejo was allowed to drift into the penalty area and sweep Etienne Capoue’s lofted pass beyond Wojciech Szczesny.
“We made a bad mistake on their equaliser,” Allegri said. “We perfectly knew that they were trying that move and we still allowed them to score. However, the team played a good game in general.
“We made a few mistakes also in attack; straying offside when we had good chances on the counter-attack.
“In general, I’m quite satisfied with the performance.”
