On-loan forward Pablo Osvaldo has given Juventus a 1-0 lead in the first leg of their last-32 Europa League tie against Trabzonspor on home turf.
© AFP
Paul Pogba created the first chance of the encounter in Turin when he slid the ball into the path of Mauricio Isla, who managed to pick out Carlos Tevez in the box.
The former Manchester City striker launched an effort towards goal with his first touch, but the ball lifted just over the top of the bar.
The home side began to take control of proceedings with their passage of play, which almost resulted in another chance for Tevez, who was almost through on goal before Trabzonspor's defence cleared the oncoming pass.
After 16 minutes, the Serie A side opened the scoring when Tevez's deflected pass to Pogba fell into the path of on-loan forward Pablo Osvaldo, who unleashed a powerful drive into the back of the net after taking a touch.
Once they had taken the lead, Juventus continued to put pressure on their opponents when Tevez collected a long ball from Federico Peluso, but Tevez's strike flew wide of the post.
Just minutes later, Isla tried his chance at goal by dancing into the box and past Trabzonspor's defensive line to unleash a close-range shot, but the goalkeeper was able to block the path of the ball.
The visitors showed some intent by finding pockets of space in Juventus's defence, but as of half time, they have failed to create enough to trouble the home side.
Danielle Joynson
