Nick Woltemade Shines in Juventus Draw Against Rennes
Nick Woltemade walked off the Allianz Stadium pitch with only a draw on the scoreboard, but with his name suddenly echoing through Italian football’s loudest press rooms.
Juventus had laboured to a 2-2 result against Rennes in the Europa League on Thursday night, a performance that left more questions than answers about the team as a whole. Yet in the middle of that uneven display, the German loanee from Newcastle produced the kind of night that changes how a club – and a country – talks about you.
A record night in Turin
By the final whistle, Woltemade had an assist, a calmly taken penalty, and a slice of Juventus history. He has now scored in each of his first three European matches for the club, a run previously achieved by only two names: Roberto Baggio in 1990 and Darko Kovacevic in 1999.
That is not routine company. That is the kind of statistic that jumps off the page in a country obsessed with its past greats.
The 21-year-old first slipped into the game as a creator, setting up Juventus’s opener to drag them back into the contest. Later, with the pressure cranked up and the home side still chasing, he took responsibility from the spot and buried the penalty for 2-2. The team never found a winner. He had already found his moment.
Italian press falls in line behind Woltemade
If Juventus as a unit looked disjointed, the verdict on Woltemade was anything but.
La Gazzetta dello Sport highlighted how the match “showed off” his best qualities, underlining how comfortable he looked operating in his favoured role behind a true No. 9, with Randal Kolo Muani leading the line. Given that freedom between the lines, he played with what Gazzetta described as “total ease” in the final third, knitting attacks together and stepping into the box with conviction.
Corriere dello Sport went a step further on its front page, declaring that Woltemade had finally “stepped up” for Juventus. This was not just another encouraging cameo. It was framed as a turning point, the night he moved from promising loanee to genuine protagonist in a European tie.
Tuttosport, never shy of sharpening the contrast, suggested he was the only Juventus player who truly embodied the “right spirit” on the pitch. On an evening when the collective stuttered, they cast him as the exception – the one who refused to accept the drift of the game.
A European specialist in waiting
Strip away the headlines and the numbers still make a clear case. Since arriving from Newcastle on loan in the summer window, Woltemade has three goals and one assist for Juventus. Every single one of those contributions has come in the Europa League.
Domestically, the story has yet to ignite. He is still waiting for his first start and first goal contribution in Serie A after five straight appearances off the bench. In the league, he remains a supporting act, a late option rather than a central figure.
Europe tells a different story. Under the lights, with the anthem playing and the pressure sharper, he has already carved out a niche as Juventus’s unexpected early-season specialist. Three European games. Three goals. One assist. A record alongside Baggio and Kovacevic.
For now, that contrast defines his Juventus career: impact in Europe, frustration in Serie A. Performances like the one against Rennes tend to shorten that gap.
The question now is simple: after a night that lit up the Italian sports pages, how much longer can Juventus afford to keep their European talisman as just a substitute in the league?
