Juventus take charge against Trabzonspor

Goals from Pablo Osvaldo and Paul Pogba gave Juventus a 2-0 advantage over Trabzonspor AŞ after the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie.

Osvaldo marked his first start for the Bianconeri by breaking the deadlock on 16 minutes. The home side missed several first-half opportunities to score another but Trabzonspor improved drastically in the second period and went close to an important away goal before conceding the second in stoppage time.

Juventus attacked from the off, Carlos Tévez rifling over from a promising position after five minutes following a Mauricio Isla pass. Eleven minutes later, Osvaldo beat Onur Kıvrak with a precise low finish after Tévez's ball had been deflected into his path by a Trabzonspor defender.

Isla might have added another soon after following another Tévez pass, but the right-back fired straight at Onur having dribbled past Aykut Demir. The Trabzonspor goalkeeper also looked on with relief as Tévez's strike from inside the area finished just wide of his left-hand post. Juve's No10 then failed to angle his effort sufficiently after neat footwork in the box.

Onur was again called into action early in the second half when he palmed away Osvaldo's attempt after another brilliant ball by Tévez. Visiting coach Hami Mandirali's decision to bring on Paulo Henrique nearly paid dividends for the Turkish team as the substitute found space on the left after a nice back-heel from Özer Hurmacı. However, Gianluigi Buffon was on hand to thwart his close-range effort.

The Serie A leaders had another big opportunity when Pogba's deflected drive hit a post, but the France midfielder made amends in added time, sending Onur the wrong way with a precise right-footer – Tévez, aptly, had provided the perfect assist.