Juventus vs. Borussia Dortmund: Final score 2-1, Bianconeri earn deserved victory

Juventus earned a deserved 2-1 victory at home to Borussia Dortmund in Turin on Tuesday, though despite an impressive performance, they conceded an away goal that could well come back to haunt them in the return fixture.

The opening exchanges were dominated by a spritely Juve, but their opener only came once Dortmund had begun to settle into the game. A quick counter-attack just short of a quarter of an hour in culminated in Álvaro Morata's low shot being pushed away by Roman Weidenfeller, only for Carlos Tevez to bundle the rebound into the back of the net.

However, Dortmund's response was swift, and just five minutes later they had netted an equaliser. It wouldn't have come were it not for an embarrassing slip by Giorgio Chiellini, which allowed Marco Reus to slip clean through on Gianluigi Buffon's goal and rifle it home for an all-important away goal.

The goal allowed the visitors to settle into the game, with Juventus coming under increasing pressure. The loss of midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo didn't help; the Italian international having to be replaced by Roberto Pereyra with what seemed to be a lower leg injury.

But, as with the first goal, the bianconeri hit Dortmund on the counter-attack with just a couple of minutes of the half remaining; a simple ball from Paul Pogba on the left flank drilled into the box and tapped home at the far post by Morata. It wasn't a lead that the hosts deserved, but the home crowd certainly didn't mind.

Alas, the second half didn't have the same zip as the first, and the game was played at a rather pedestrian pace. Dortmund looked promising early on, with Ciro Immobile lashing the ball straight at Buffon from inside the area after 10 minutes, though their early threat was a fleeting one.

Before long, Juventus assumed control of the game -- not dominating possession, but doing enough to keep Dortmund at bay. With 10 minutes remaining, they almost killed the match off, though Weidenfeller punched Tevez's shot to safety. Five minutes later they went even closer, though Roberto Pereyra's shot bounced wide after he was sent through one-on-one with the goalkeeper.