Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba was left out of the squad to face Freiburg in the Europa League after he reported late for training. After suffering a knee injury in the preseason, the former Manchester United midfielder has just recently returned to play, making his first two outings for the Italian club since his summer transfer last week. He will, however, miss Juventus’ last-16 Europa League opening leg against German club Freiburg after arriving late for training on Wednesday.
In July, Paul Pogba returned to Juventus on a free transfer, signing a four-year contract. Juventus is having a bad season. They were relegated to the Europa League after placing third in their Champions League group behind Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain, beating Nantes to reach the last 16, and are now sixth in Serie A, despite reaching the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
“The historical gap is enormous. Juventus is a two-time European champion. Freiburg has advanced to the round of 16 in European competition for the first time. Nonetheless, the Germans are fifth in their table, while their famed opponents are eighth. This should be intriguing,” Adam Bate said. “According to Freiburg goalie Mark Flekken, this is the moment he has been waiting for his entire career. Prior to joining Freiburg in 2018, the Dutchman had never played top-flight football, let alone competed in Europe. His narrative sums up this team.”
“They are not superstars, but they have a strategy. Juventus must be wary of set pieces and must be structured and cohesive – just as their opponents will be. Freiburg, the Black Forest team led by Christian Streich, is a club united,” he added. “They place high importance on personality. They look for persons who will fit in with the group. It’s a tight-knit group. It’s not just talent. It’s also a lot of labor. That is on top of everything else. When you combine that with talent, you can reach for the stars. Winning Juventus over two legs would be impressive, but Freiburg has previously defeated Olympiakos 3-0 and Nantes 4-0. If they can keep it close in Turin, they will be confident going into the second leg – they have not lost at home since August.”
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