While we await tonight’s big showdown between Juventus an PSV Eindhoven, the Bianconeri’s official website provided us with the most interesting stats and facts ahead of the Champions League opener.
The source notes that this will be the first-ever clash between the two sides in Europe’s elite club competition.
The last time the Old Lady took on Dutch opposition dates back to the 2018/19 season, in a quarter-final double header between Max Allegri’s Juve and Erik ten Hag’s Ajax. The Amsterdam-giants prevailed over Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates.
Nevertheless, the Bianconeri still have a comprehensive advantage over opponents hailing from the Netherlands. In 11 previous meetings, the Serie A giants won six times against Dutch clubs, registering three draws and only two defeats.
On the contrary, PSV are winless in six away fixtures against Italian clubs. They drew twice and suffered four defeats.
This will be Juve’s 38th appearance in the competition whether under the modern Champions League banner or its predecessor, the European Champions’ Cup.
The Bianconeri thus have more appearances than other Italian club. Only Real Madrid (55), Bayern Munich (41) and Benfica (41) have more.
Thiago Motta will be the 10th manager to lead the Bianconeri in the Champions League, joining an elusive club made up exclusively of Italian tacticians. His predecessors are Lippi, Ancelotti, Capello, Ranieri, Ferrera, Conte, Allegri, Sarri and Pirlo.
Finally, Kenan Yildiz (19 years and 136 days on Matchday 1) could become the second-youngest player to play a Champions League match for Juventus as a starter (after Fabio Miretti, 19 years and 34 days).
If the Turkish star were to score, he would become the club’s youngest-ever UCL goalscorer, breaking the long-standing record set by Alessandro Del Piero (20 years and 308 days).
