Villarreal 2-2 Juventus, UEFA Champions League: Old Lady, Yellow Submarine Share Spoils In Thrilling Encounter

Renato Veiga scored a 90th-minute equaliser as Villarreal fought their way to a 2-2 draw against Juventus at Estadio de la Ceramica.

A fast start to the second half saw Juventus go in front following Georges Mikautadze's early strike, but Veiga's late equaliser saw the spoils deservedly shared in a thrilling encounter.

Mikautadze opened the scoring after just 18 minutes, slotting past Mattia Perin following a precise pass from Nicolas Pepe, while Alfonso Pedraza hit the woodwork for the hosts soon after as they looked to double their lead.

Kenan Yildiz and Jonathan David both threatened to equalise for Juventus before the Serie A side produced a swift turnaround in the first 15 minutes of the second half.

Federico Gatti levelled the scoreline with an incredible overhead kick after Lloyd Kelly flicked the ball on from a throw-in, while half-time substitute Francisco Conceicao pounced on a poor pass from Dani Parejo before beating Arnau Tenas between the posts.

David had the chance to seal all three points for Igor Tudor's side, but his lobbed effort struck the woodwork, and he was made to rue his miss when Veiga rose highest from Ilias Akhomach's corner to rescue a point for Villarreal.

Data Debrief: Villarreal's Italian joy

A draw was a fair result in the end, with Villarreal producing 1.67 expected goals (xG) from 17 attempts to Juventus' 1.55 from 13 shots.

Villarreal are now unbeaten in their last five Champions League matches against Italian opposition (W2 D3), scoring at least two goals in four of those games, while Mikautadze’s goal was their first in the competition since Francis Coquelin scored against Liverpool in the semi-final second leg in May 2022.

Juventus, meanwhile, extended their run of six games without a win when they concede first in the Champions League (D3 L3). In fact, the Italian side have only won one of their last 13 UCL matches when conceding the first goal (D3 L9).