Juventus, Aston Villa kick off Champions League with big wins

Juventus beat Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven 3-1 on Wednesday morning (AEST) in their opening match of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League campaign at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.

The Italian giants took the lead in the 21st minute through a brilliant finish by 19-year-old Kenan Yildiz, who became the club’s youngest-ever player to score in the European Cup.

The goal marked a significant milestone for the Turkish teenager, who has found the back of the net in his Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League debuts.

Juventus doubled their lead six minutes later through American winger Weston McKennie, before rounding off a dominant performance with a third goal scored by Nicolas Gonzalez soon after the interval.

Thiago Motta’s men were unable to keep a clean sheet, however, as the Dutch champions found a consolation goal deep into injury time through midfielder Ismael Saibari.

Juventus will play host to Napoli in the Serie A this Sunday morning, with online bookmakers paying +122 for Juve to beat the visitors (+249).

Meanwhile, Aston Villa cruised to a 3-0 victory over Swiss Super League champions Young Boys at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern.

The Premier League side went ahead in the 27th minute through Youri Tielemans, who netted Villa’s first goal in the top-tier European competition in over four decades.

Midfielder Jacob Ramsey capitalised on a defensive blunder to double the visitors’ lead 11 minutes later, before Amadou Onana sealed all three points with a fine strike four minutes from stoppage time.

Villa will have to recover quickly, especially after manager Unai Emery maintained the same starting line-up that beat Everton 3-2 last Saturday in the EPL.

Leading soccer betting sites have the Birmingham side as -156.25 favourites for their league clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers (+414) early on Sunday at Villa Park.

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