Bianconeri held in Denmark for second consecutive year.
Juventus boss Antonio Conte was left to bemoan his side’s lack of clinical finishing on Tuesday night, as the Bianconeri were held to a 1-1 draw by FC Copenhagen.
La Gazzetta dello Sport led the way in criticism by branding their performance “a waste”, as for the second consecutive year they dropped points away in Denmark to supposedly inferior opposition.
Statistics will point to the main issue, with Juve having 27 shots against their opponents, scoring just one goal. Meanwhile in Istanbul, Real Madrid had 18 shots against Galatasaray but scored six.
An opening night draw is hardly a nightmare scenario as Conte’s side bounced back last year to make it through the group, but it will undoubtedly be seen as a missed opportunity to take an early advantage.
Fabio Quagliarella was the man to rescue his side with the equaliser, and he will feel unfortunate to not have secured all three points after he saw his glancing header clip the crossbar.
Nevertheless, perhaps the lack of a prolific striker is set to continue to haunt the Old Lady, as their Serie A rivals will hope their front men will deliver on Wednesday night.
AC Milan have been ravaged by injuries over the past week, and have named four youth team players in their squad to fill out the bench. However, one thing they do have is firepower in the shape of Mario Balotelli and summer signing Alessandro Matri.
The latter bagged a double against opponents Celtic last season in Juve colours, and will be hopeful of producing a similar performance when the two sides meet at San Siro on Wednesday night.
While the makeshift midfield and suspect defence still have plenty of question marks hanging over them, Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri will place a great deal of responsibility on Balotelli and Matri to ensure they avoid an upset.
Further south in Naples, Rafa Benitez will also be confident that his side’s attacking strength will overshadow their weaknesses in defence.
Marek Hamsik has started the season in spectacular fashion, while Real Madrid old-boys Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon have found their scoring boots early on.
Dortmund will undoubtedly be a tough test, as the runners-up from last year have seemingly strengthened further over the summer and look an all-round impressive unit.
However, with a passionate San Paolo crowd behind them, Napoli will be expected to take the game to their rivals and similarly to Milan but not so similar to Juve, they have the threats in attack to complete the job.
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