Matthijs de Ligt scored an own goal on his first start before veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon rescued Juventus in a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Inter Milan on Wednesday.
It may only have been a friendly between the Italian arch rivals, but tempers threatened to boil over at times, especially in a feisty second half in stifling Nanjing.
The game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes, with Cristiano Ronaldo drawing Juventus level with a deflected second-half free-kick following De Ligt’s own goal on 10 minutes.
Then the 41-year-old Buffon more than twice De Ligt’s age sprang to the fore in the shootout, making a triumphant return to the Serie A champions after a year with Paris Saint-Germain. Read more