Juventus Seal 1-0 Pre-Season Friendly Victory Over Standard Liege

FolioPitch.com – 26 July 2026 | Juventus have kick-started their pre-season campaign on a high note with a 1-0 win over Standard Liege in a friendly match. The Bianconeri, who are still without several key first-team stars, made the most of their youth and experience to secure a hard-fought victory.

The hosts came out strong in the opening minutes, putting Juventus under immediate pressure. Their first major chance of the game came after 10 minutes when Gustav Mortensen crossed in for Timothe Nkada, who was unable to apply the finishing touches in the area.

An error from Andrea Cambiaso after 22 minutes almost saw Standard Liege take the lead, but Federico Gatti was able to get a vital block to Alexis Trouillet’s shot to turn it behind for a corner. Douglas Luiz and Manuel Locatelli saw shots sail over the crossbar midway through the first half, which began to peter out heading towards the interval.

Luciano Spalletti made several personnel changes at the interval and also swapped formations from a 3-4-2-1 to a 4-2-3-1. Mattia Perin, Zeki Celik, Joao Mario, Arthur Melo, Fabio Miretti, and Justin Oboavwoduo were the players introduced at half-time.

The breakthrough came 10 minutes into the second period when Miretti slammed a powerfully-driven free-kick into the back of the net from the edge of the penalty area. The midfielder was left alone and had an opportunity for a quick-fire brace almost immediately afterwards, but was off-balance when he triggered his shot, Ibe Hautekiet grateful to have got a late block to it.

Juventus’ 1-0 win over Standard Liege marks a promising start to their pre-season campaign. With several key players still on holiday, the Bianconeri’s ability to adapt and make the most of their youth and experience will be crucial in the coming weeks.

Here are the line-ups for both teams:

Standard Liege:

Juventus First-Half XI (3-4-2-1):

Juventus Second-Half XI (4-2-3-1):

Juventus will be looking to build on this momentum as they continue their pre-season campaign. With several key players returning from holiday, the Bianconeri will be hoping to make a strong start to the new season.