Juventus travelled to the low countries to face AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League league phase. The match brought together two European teams in a competition that uses a single-table format during this phase.
Francisco Conceição was the only Portuguese present in the starting eleven of Sérgio Conceição, who was managing Juventus. The Portuguese winger, son of the coach, thus had the opportunity to make his mark on a European stage while playing for the Italian club.
The team from Turin was led by Luciano Spalletti on the substitutes' bench, while AZ Alkmaar played at home aiming to earn points in the standings of the single table of the Europa League.
This league phase of the European competition allows all participating teams to compete directly against each other in a common ranking, without the traditional group division, which makes each victory particularly important for classification ambitions.
