Dusan Vlahovic scored the quickest-ever Champions League goal by a debutant starter as Juventus and Villarreal drew 1-1 in their round-of-16 first leg clash at La Ceramica on Tuesday.
The Serbia international joined the Bianconeri in January from rivals Fiorentina from a sensational 18 months and showed his worth on Europe’s biggest stage as he opened the scoring within 32 seconds.
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Vlahovic chested Danilo‘s long ball down before firing past goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli with his weaker left foot.
Villarreal levelled the game on 66 minutes when Dani Parejo finished from close range after being played in by Etienne Capoue
The opening goal had allowed Juve to control the match as they kept Villarreal at arm’s length for the majority of the match as Arnaut Danjuma went closest for the hosts when his improvised backheel was saved by Wojciech Szczesny.
USMNT international Weston McKennie went close to adding a second for Juve on 38 minutes but saw his effort blocked by Villarreal defender Raul Albiol.
However, Juve — who have been eliminated at the round of 16 to Lyon and FC Porto in the past two seasons — failed to add to their advantage and allowed Villarreal back into the game.
Unai Emery’s side pulled a goal back through Parejo and then looked to be the more likely to take the lead as they grew in belief.
Adrien Rabiot was lucky stay on the field as he picked up just a yellow card for a shocking challenge on Samuel Chukwueze on 73 minutes while McKennie was forced off with an ankle injury on eight minutes later.
The return leg will take place on March 16 at Juve’s Allianz Stadium.