Juventus Vs Borussia Dortmund [4-4] Champions League 2025/2026: Can Igor Tudor Fix Juve Defence Without Sacrificing Attack? – Tactical Analysis

Juventus played their first UEFA Champions League match of the 2025/2026 season against Borussia Dortmund, and the game ended with a very dramatic late draw after the Bianconeri scored their fourth goal to equalise.

The result cannot be considered positive for Juventus, as they were playing at home and were hoping to kick off this initial phase with a win despite facing a tough opponent in BVB.

But, given the chronology of events and the teams positive attitude and reaction to the game, Juventus can be happy about the second half and their ability to get back in the game after they were two goals behind.

That’s why it will be crucial to build on this comeback and the way Juventus dealt with the second half, especially from an attacking and playmaking perspective.

At the same time, it will be even more urgent to focus extensively on the team’s defensive performance and try fixing what went wrong in this game, in order to avoid conceding many goals per match in the future.

The fact that Juventus conceded three goals in the previous game against Inter Milan and four goals against Borussia Dortmund is alarming.

Head coach Igor Tudor must seriously consider this to guarantee more balance in the team’s performances, whether in Serie A or UEFA Champions League games.

Therefore, this tactical analysis of the match between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund will explore Juventus’ defensive issues and analyse why they conceded four goals in a single match.

The analysis will also reserve a section to explore the impact of Kenan Yıldız and Dušan Vlahović on the game, as well as the positives and negatives of the Bianconeri’s attacking performance in this opening UEFA Champions League game.

Juventus Vs Borussia Dortmund Lineups

Igor Tudor surprised everyone with an unexpected lineup, different from the one he used against Inter Milan in Juves previous game.

Tudor explained this risk-taking, especially given the short period that his players had to rest between the two games.

Tudor started the match in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Michele Di Gregorio as a goalkeeper, and a defensive trio of Pierre Kalulu, Gleison Bremer, and Lloyd Kelly.

In midfield, he chose to rely on Teun Koopmeiners as a defensive midfielder instead of Manuel Locatelli, with Khéphren Thuram playing alongside him and both Weston McKennie and Andrea Cambiaso as wing-backs.

He also made a few changes in attack.

He preferred to start with Jonathan David and Yıldız on the wings behind Loïs Openda, who was used as a striker instead of Vlahović.

Keeping Vlahović on the bench and subbing him during the second half made the difference for Juventus, as he brought a lot of dynamism, movements without the ball, dangerous finishing, and passing inside the final third.

Managing the energy of Vlahović and avoiding the risk of playing him from the start paid off as Juventus benefited from his abilities exactly when they needed him.

It is true that subbing him on earlier could have made things even more positive for Juventus, but it was fair to give Openda his opportunity, especially considering that it was his first start with Juventus and that he showed some positive signs during this participation.

On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund’s head coach, Niko Kovač, opted for a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Gregor Kobel as the goalkeeper, Julian Ryerson, Waldemar Anton, and Ramy Bensebaini as centre-backs.

In midfield, he relied on Marcel Sabitzer and Felix Nmecha as central midfielders, Yan Couto and Daniel Svensson as wing-backs, Karim Adeyemi and Maximilian Beier as wingers, and Serhou Guirassy as the team’s striker.

Juventus Vs Borussia Dortmund Formations

Juventus Recurrent Defensive Issues

Juventus’ defensive performance against Borussia Dortmund witnessed numerous mistakes that could have been avoided if they had fixed the errors committed in their previous match against Inter Milan.

It is true that Juventus did not concede much during the first half and were very balanced and cautious defensively.

However,