Dusan Vlahovic had never played in the UEFA Champions League before the Round of 16 first leg match at Villarreal on Feb. 22, but the Juventus January star signing didn't look one bit out of place in the competition.
Vlahovic put Juventus Grover Stewart Jerseys ahead on the road after just 33 seconds, scoring the quickest debut goal by a starter in the history of the Champions League.
The 22-year-old demonstrated why Juventus were so eager to sign him, with Vlahovic replacing Cristiano Ronaldo as the face of the club's forward line following the latter's return to Manchester United last summer.
Juventus still have much to work on as a unit, with the game ending 1-1 after Dani Parejo got a goal back for Villarreal in the second half.
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Despite the failure to hold on to the lead, and a ma sive injury casualty in American Weston McKennie, Juventus fans will come away from the match feeling more optimistic than ever about the impact that Vlahovic could have, doing things on the field that even Ronaldo wasn't able to.
Champions League record set by Dusan VlahovicIt created some sensation when Vlahovic used an expert control and turn to singlehandedly beat the Villarreal backline after le s than a minute had elapsed.
It turns out he beat former German international Andy Moller by four seconds for the fastest goal from the start of a game by a Champions League debutant:
Dusan Vlahovic's goal is officially the fastest debut goal by a player in the , beating Andreas Moller's set in 1995.It only took him 33 seconds.
Squawka Football Indianapolis Colts Hats (@Squawka)32 seconds.Dusan Vlahovics first goal is the fastest by a debutant in the competition.
CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo)There was one debutant who came off the bench for his Champions League debut and who made even more of an instant impact: Sevilla's Yevhen Konoplyanka.
Players who needed the least time to net on their Champions League debuts 19 sec Konoplyanka* (Sevilla) in 2015 33 sec VLAHOVIC (Juve) in 2022 37 sec Andy Mller (Dortmund) in 1995 41 sec Gary McSwegan* (Rangers) in 1992 * off the bench.
MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) How Vlahovic has changed the Juventus attackVlahovic was signed primarily to score goals, but he offers much more than just that. AgainstVillarreal he demonstrated that his link-up play is also of a high standard as he frequently combined with his teammates in the opening period.
In addition, forward teammate Alvaro Morata seemed to relish being able to play with Vlahovic. The attacking burden Eric Fisher Jerseys was shared between the two.
Unfazed by the big stage, Vlahovic showed he could help to make Juventus more of a cohesive unit as opposed to when Ronaldo was rather individualistic at times.
But what stood out more than Vlahovic's selfle s running and his combining with teammates was his clever movements off the ball. Whenever po sible, Juventus looked to play long balls into the path of their center forward, though he was equally comfortable receiving po se sion with shorter pa ses.
As the first half wore on it became harder for Vlahovic to get the ball, but he continued to make good runs as he looked for space. In the Tony Brown Jerseys second half he was somewhat starved of service, but he still had one opportunity with a quickly-taken effort after being found by Morata.
Vlahovic as the Ronaldo replacement at JuventusThere is no doubt that Ronaldo made a huge contribution for Juventus he scored 101 goals in 134 games for the club. Now, though, Juventus are looking to the future, with Vlahovic leading the attack.
Although he had mixed succe s to start his Juventus career he scored on his debut against Hellas Verona and forced an own-goal winner in the Italian Cup against Sa suolo, before failing to find the Malik Hooker Jerseys net against Atalanta and Torino it is clear that Vlahovic is an injection of quality and Juventus will be heavily dependent on him as they look to progre s both domestically and in the Champions League.
His goal against Villarreal was a fantastic solo effort from a difficult angle with his weaker foot. Once he builds greater chemistry with his teammates, they should be able to work better together as a unit and Vlahovic won't have to go it alone.
But if Vlahovic wants to really stand out from Ronaldo they both wear the No. 7 jersey for the Old Lady he will want to make a greater Champions League impact than his predece sor did.
Juventus brought Ronaldo in to help take them over the top in the UEFA Champions League, but it never happened. The club wasn't able to progre s beyond the quarterfinals of the tournament during his years with the club.
If Vlahovic can produce in his next three Champions League matches (the second leg vs. Villarreal and the quarterfinals) he could potentially take an unfancied and injury-riddled Juve side to places that Ronaldo never could. Vlahovic is already making club history in his short time with Juventus (see below), but Champions League succe s would Quenton Nelson Jerseys take his standing at the institution to another level.
2 - Duan Vlahovi (22 years, 25 days) is the second youngest player to score on their Champions League debut for Juventus after Ale sandro Del Piero (20 years 308 days). Arrival.
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