Juventus v Freiburg Live Commentary & Result, 09/03/2023, UEFA Europa League

Juve head to Germany next week with the advantage, then, but Freiburg are still very much in this tie. That's all for now. Goodbye!

Juventus had 20 shots to Freiburg's one in this match. Allegri's men were so comfortable they might think they should have scored more. The Germans will be glad to have limited their deficit just to one goal, although they will think that Holer's goal should have stood. They'll certainly need to cause Juve more problems in the second leg to progress.

Juventus will take a narrow lead into the second leg of this tie next week! The Old Lady showed their European experience here, keeping Freiburg at bay all match. Di Maria's bullet header was the difference between these two sides on paper. In reality, the Italians didn't need to exert themselves too much for the win.

90' + 5' FULL-TIME: JUVENTUS 1-0 FREIBURG

90' + 5' Cuadrado's outswinging delivery gets headed away. Grifo tries to get Freiburg moving down the left. Juve intercept his pass, and that's that!

90' + 4' Fagioli drifts through the middle, steadies himself, and blasts the ball against Ginter. Juve will get one last corner.

90' + 2' The officials let Cuadrado race onto Rabiot's pass into Freiburg's half, reach the byline and shoot across Flekken before calling play back for offside.

90' There'll be at least five minutes added onto the end of this game. Juve have things well under control.

88' Grifo plays a clever chip over the top for Kubler to chase. Freiburg's right wing-back hooks it towards the centre but there's no one there to make the most of it.

M. Gregoritsch

L. Höler

88' Holer's game for Freiburg is over. It wasn't his fault his goal was ruled out. Gregoritsch replaces him.

86' Freiburg still haven't had a shot on target in this game. Juventus have kept their attackers extremely quiet.

L. Bonucci

Yellow Card

84' Bonucci intercepts a pass with his head then uses his nous to stop Freiburg from taking a quick throw-in. The centre-back stoically accepts a booking.

83' Di Maria fires way off target from long range down the left. The Argentine's been influential for Juventus.

83' Chiesa saunters back onto the pitch to cheers from the home fans. He's given Juventus some zip since coming on.

82' Chiesa shakes his head. The substitute might not be able to carry on. It looks like he's picked up a problem with his knee. He leaves the pitch for now.

80' Juve are successfully holding Freiburg at arm's length and getting the odd chance of their own too. Kean nods wide from Cuadrado's cross after a fast break forward, before Chiesa dribbles through the middle and has a shot blocked.

M. Kean

F. Kostić

78' Juventus substitution. Kostic leaves the pitch. Kean wanders onto it.

76' Grifo gets tripped just in front of the box. The German-born Italian goes for the top left corner with his free-kick, which whizzes just over the crossbar.

74' Freiburg have perked up a bit since their ruled-out goal. Still, they're hardly making Juventus sweat yet.

Bremer

Yellow Card

72' Bremer stops a crossfield pass with his left arm. The Brazilian lands his name in the referee's book.

70' Doan gets Freiburg a throw-in down their right. The Germans hurl the ball into Juve's box. The hosts block Holer's header and clear with ease.

M. Gulde

P. Lienhart

68' Lienhart sadly has to go off. Gulde takes his place at the back for Freiburg.

F. Chiesa

D. Vlahović

67' Chiesa takes Vlahovic's place on the pitch for Juventus.

66' Play stops briefly as Lienhart has picked up an injury. He looks unable to carry on. While he's being treated, Juventus will make a change.

64' NO GOAL! JUVENTUS 1-0 FREIBURG! The referee Anastasios Sidiropoulos heads over to the pitchside monitor to watch the goal back. Ginter accidentally handled the ball as he headed it down for Holer, so the goal's chalked off. Freiburg aren't pleased, but them's the rules.

62' GOAL! JUVENTUS 1-1 FREIBURG! Freiburg score with their first shot on goal! The visitors win a free-kick down their left. Ginter nods the ball down for Holer in the box, who wraps his body around it and lashes it first-time into the bottom left corner! Wait, the goal's being checked by VAR...

60' Juventus earn a free-kick down their right. It's headed out as far as Kostic, whose low drive deflects out for a corner.

Y. Keitel

M. Eggestein

59' Eggestein also heads off. On comes Keitel for Freiburg.

R. Dōan

R. Sallai

59' Sallai is the first Freiburg player to get the hook. The Japanese winger Doan replaces him.

57' Freiburg are about to make a few substitutions. The Germans need them. They haven't troubled Szczesny at all yet. Kubler's caught offside from Sallai's cross.

55' That's Di Maria's fourth goal in the Europa League for Juve this season, a new high for him in this competition. The Argentine's still more than good enough for this level.

F. Kostić

Assist

53' That was fantastic work by Kostic to find Di Maria, who generated plenty of power in his header. The goal's been coming.

Á. Di María

Goal

53' GOAL! JUVENTUS 1-0 FREIBURG! Di Maria gives Juventus the lead with a bullet header from Kostic's left-wing cross, seconds after Rabiot misdirects his own! Flekken has no chance of saving it.

L. Höler

Yellow Card

51' Holer hauls down Cuadrado near the halfway line as Juventus launch a counter-attack. The Freiburg striker's shown the yellow card.

49' That isn't the start to the half Freiburg will have wanted, but they don't need to be concerned just yet. Juve will take confidence from that last attack.

47' Locatelli takes a pot shot from range that gets blocked. Juventus keep the pressure on but Vlahovic heads high and wide from Di Maria's cross. The striker yells in frustration.

46' Freiburg get the second half started. Let's see if they have to defend as stoutly as they did in the opening 45 minutes.

N. Fagioli

F. Miretti

46' Juventus make a half-time substitution. Fagioli replaces Miretti.

Flekken made five saves in that first half, most notably to keep out Rabiot's drive. The Dutchman has certainly been busy so far. Freiburg will want to give his counterpart Szczesny more to do in the second half. Otherwise, Juventus might get lucky eventually.

It's all square between Juventus and Freiburg at the break. Allegri's men have peppered the visitors' box with shots, but the Germans have been defensively solid and Flekken has done his job when called upon. They've created nothing going forward yet, but that won't worry them. More to come!

45' + 1' HALF-TIME: JUVENTUS 0-0 FREIBURG

45' Cuadrado cuts inside and lets fly with his left foot. Flekken reads the shot well to keep it out! Vlahovic's header from a tight angle is too high. There'll be just one added minute before half-time.

45' Ginter kicks away Cuadrado's hopeful cross into the penalty area. Freiburg keep the ball for a while, but soon lose it with a careless pass that's intercepted.

43' Freiburg have been busy at the back in this first half. They've held their own though. Juve are having to stay alert.

41' Miretti receives a pass inside the D and fires back across goal towards the bottom left corner. Freiburg get a body in the way.

40' Miretti carries Juventus forward. The hosts' eventual delivery doesn't cause Freiburg's defence too much trouble.

39' Vlahovic can't reach a Juventus cross. Now it's Freiburg's turn to attack. Sildillia loses possession at the wrong moment.

37' Freiburg take the corner short for Gunter to send into the box. Juventus manage to deal with it.

36' Danilo slides in on Kubler to hand Freiburg a corner down their right.

34' Vlahovic bursts through the centre of the pitch. The Serbian takes on Ginter but can't get the better of the Freiburg man.

32' Di Maria's corner makes its way to Bremer at the far post. The Brazilian can't keep his header down though! That's a decent chance for Juventus.

31' Cuadrado beats Gunter down the right. Freiburg's captain recovers to block the Colombian's shot and hand Juventus a corner.

29' Sallai buys Freiburg a free-kick in their own half. They can't make anything of it though, so Juve come roaring straight back.

27' Freiburg are having to do a lot of defending now. The Germans haven't registered a shot on goal yet.

25' Vlahovic takes the free-kick, sending a left-footed curler over Freiburg's defensive wall. Flekken reaches up to push it away from goal. The ball comes back to Locatelli inside the box, who takes a touch and blasts over.

M. Ginter

Yellow Card

24' Ginter's shown the game's first yellow card for hauling down his man in a central position. What can Juve make of this?

L. Bonucci

Alex Sandro

23' Here's that unexpected Juventus substitution. Bonucci takes Alex Sandro's place at centre-back.

22' There's minor action at both ends of the pitch. Flekken catches Rabiot's tame effort from distance, before Szczesny catches Sallai's high cross from the right. Juventus are about to make a change as Alex Sandro has picked up a knock of some kind.

20' Juventus are starting to dominate. Di Maria earns the hosts another free-kick near the left touchline. It's taken square and low, and Freiburg boot it away.

18' Sildillia closes down Di Maria outside the box and ends up fouling the Argentine. Cuadrado curls the free-kick low towards the near post. It's at a comfortable height for Flekken to push away.

17' Juve win a throw-in down their left off Ginter and take it quickly. The Italians are starting to fnd their stride.

15' That opportunity will buoy Juventus, who don't look troubled by Freiburg yet. The Germans have edged possession so far.

13' So close for Rabiot! The Frenchman skips into Di Maria's pass and tries to beat Flekken from a tight angle. The Freiburg goalkeeper takes the heat out of the shot, which almost creeps in at the far post! Juve do manage to put the ball in the net in the aftermath, but Locatelli fouls Hofler in the buildup.

12' Freiburg earn their first corner of the game, apparently off Cuadrado. On second viewing, the ball didn't touch him. The corner comes to nothing, which is just as well.

10' Sallai jostles for the ball in Juve's box and ends up fouling his marker Kostic.

8' Freiburg have started to settle into this game. Juve are quite content to let the visitors hog possession in their own half.

6' Juventus see out Freiburg's short spell of pressure without incident. Rabiot skips through the middle and hangs up a left-footed cross for Vlahovic that's headed away.

4' Freiburg pop the ball around for a while in Juve's half as the hosts sit deep. This could be a cagey game with both teams starting with three-man defences.

2' Freiburg get off to a nervy start as Kostic blasts a shot against a defender from the edge of the penalty area. Juve keep the ball in play and fizz it across the face of the six-yard box. The visitors hurriedly clear.

1' The hosts Juventus kick off to get this first leg underway!

This will be the first ever meeting between Juventus and Freiburg in European competition, as well as Freiburg's first such meeting with an Italian opponent. This tie is uncharted territory for Christian Streich's men. How will they fare away to European powerhouses Juve? We're about to find out!

Freiburg take an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach. They're unchanged from their 0-0 draw away to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga last weekend.

Juventus largely keep the faith with the team that lost narrowly to Roma. Massimiliano Allegri makes just one change to his team from that game. Miretti replaces Fagioli in midfield.

SUBS: Ritsu Doan, Nils Petersen, Yannik Keitel, Michael Gregoritsch, Noah Atubolu, Manuel Gulde, Noah Weisshaupt, Jonathan Schmid, Tan-Kenneth Jerico Leka-Schmidt, Benjamin Uphoff, Merlin Rohl, Robert Wagner.

FREIBURG (3-4-3): Mark Flekken; Kiliann Sildillia, Matthias Ginter, Philipp Lienhart; Lukas Kubler, Maximilian Eggestein, Nicolas Hofler, Christian Gunter (c); Roland Sallai, Lucas Holer, Vincenzo Grifo.

SUBS: Daniele Rugani, Federico Chiesa, Nicolo Fagioli, Moise Kean, Leonardo Bonucci, Enzo Barrenechea, Carlo Pinsoglio, Matias Soule Malvano, Frederico Gatti, Mattia Perin, Leandro Paredes.

JUVENTUS (3-5-1-1): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo (c), Bremer, Alex Sandro; Juan Cuadrado, Adrien Rabiot, Manuel Locatelli, Fabio Miretti, Filip Kostic; Angel Di Maria; Dusan Vlahovic.

Standing between Juventus and the Europa League quarter-finals are Freiburg. This may be the Germans' first time in the knockout stage of the Europa League, but they were just one of three sides to go unbeaten in this season's group stage. Juve should take them lightly at their peril.

Juventus's recent unbeaten run came to an end last time out as they lost 1-0 in Serie A to Roma. While winning the league is no longer realistic for the Old Lady this season, winning the Europa League definitely is, as the Italians have lost just one of their last 16 games in this competition.

Hello and welcome to our live text commentary of this UEFA Europa League round-of-16 first leg between Juventus and Freiburg at Allianz Stadium.

Juventus v Freiburg Live Commentary, 09/03/2023

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