Juventus beat AZ Alkmaar 2-1 in Europa League, Teun Koopmeiners scoring against his brother Peer

Teun Koopmeiners and Kolo Muani open a 2-0 lead

Juventus went ahead in the 19th minute when Teun Koopmeiners, the older of the two brothers and a midfielder for the Turin club, finished with his left foot into the bottom corner. Kolo Muani had beaten a defender on the right and set him up at the short side of the box. Kolo Muani doubled the lead in the 37th minute, pressing high to win the ball and feeding Woltemade, whose return pass let him drive a left-footed shot into the net. That was the French forward's fourth goal of the season and his third in Europe. The first half ended with Juventus two goals up.

AZ pulls one back, but the equaliser is ruled out

AZ created little before the break, but the home side pushed harder after the restart. Meerdink reduced the deficit in the 88th minute, when Oukfir won the ball from Kelly on the right and Dijkstra found him from the byline. AZ believed it had equalised in stoppage time, but that goal was disallowed for offside. The late pressure, helped by substitutes, left Juventus clinging to the lead until the final whistle.

Spalletti and Gatti on the result

Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti said he was very satisfied with the performance and called it a serious match against a strong side.

“We played a serious match against a very strong team, and it was a great win with great football.”

Spalletti also said the team had eased off at the end, which allowed AZ to play with more conviction and score. He added that, given how the match was controlled, Juventus should have scored a third.

“Given the way we controlled this match, we should have scored a third.”

Gatti, who wore the captain's armband, said the focus had already moved to Sunday and to the league, where Juventus sit too far from the top. Kolo Muani said criticism is part of the game and that as a striker he had to score.

A brothers' duel in Alkmaar

The match was built around the Koopmeiners brothers, with Peer, AZ's captain and the younger of the two at 26, facing Teun, who is 28. Home supporters unveiled a banner reading 'Two brothers, one love', and it was dedicated to both players. Peer said after the game that he had seen his brother only briefly and that a congratulation could wait.

“I saw him very briefly, but a congratulation can wait until tomorrow.”

Italian sports papers were quick to rate the duel. Tuttosport gave Teun 7.5 and Peer 5, while Corriere dello Sport gave Teun a 7 for his performance.

Table position and the next match

With 10 points, Juventus have collected a third win in four matches. Juventus remain clearly behind the leaders in Serie A, and Gatti said the team needs the consistency it has lacked so far. The next fixture is a trip to Florence on Sunday, 8 November, the last match before the international break. McKennie stayed behind in Turin after a muscle strain picked up against Napoli, a side Juventus had beaten 2-0 before this match.