Angel Di Maria scored the only goal of the game as Juventus beat Freiburg in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 encounter.
Juve registered a whopping 20 shots at the Allianz Stadium, where Di Maria's second-half header Bianconeri gave them a slender lead in the tie.
The Argentina international continued to shine in this competition, having netted a hat-trick against Nantes in the previous round.
Freiburg, who saw their five-match unbeaten streak halted, must come from behind when the teams recommence battle in Germany next week.
Massimiliano Allegri's decision to drop Paul Pogba from the squad for disciplinary reasons dominated the build-up to what was Juve's first Europa League showdown against German opposition since they faced Borussia Dortmund in the 1994-95 semi-finals.
Pogba's fellow France international Adrien Rabiot almost opened the scoring when he drew smart reflexes out of Mark Flekken, who also kept out Juan Cuadrado's free-kick.
Bremer then somehow failed to find an open goal in the 31st minute, the defender heading over Di Maria's deep corner from just two yards out, while Cuadrado stung Flekken's palms once more before the break.
Juve eventually made the breakthrough eight minutes into the second half, when Di Maria powered home a header from Filip Kostic's centre.
Freiburg thought they had responded in the 62nd minute but, following a consultation with the VAR, Lucas Holer's wonderful volley was ruled out as Matthias Ginter handled in the build-up.
Vincenzo Grifo was then marginally off target with a free-kick that represented the visitors' only recorded attempt on goal, as the Serie A side saw out a narrow victory.
McKenna fired up for 'biggest game in world football' against Man United
Kieran McKenna believes Ipswich Town's Premier League clash with Manchester United will be the "biggest game in world football" this weekend.
United are in action under new manager Ruben Amorim for the first time since the Portuguese officially replaced Arne Slot as head coach.
While plenty of focus is on the visitors at Portman Road, Ipswich are fired up after beating Tottenham 2-1 before the international break.
That was Ipswich's first league win of the season – and their first in the Premier League in 22 years – and now attention turns to facing United.
McKenna, who previously coached United, said at a fan event this week: "Sunday, what a game. It's one we're really, really looking forward to.
"Not for the personal connection, but as manager of Ipswich Town, to be on that stage, it's what we've worked so hard for.
"It's the biggest game in world football anywhere this weekend, the biggest game in the world in the biggest sport in the world and it's at Portman Road."
Ipswich's surprise win at Tottenham last time out moved them up to 17th, while United are 13th after beating Leicester City 3-0 in Ruud van Nistelrooy's final game in caretaker charge.
Amorim took his first training session on Monday, albeit with many first-team stars away on international duty, and the former Sporting CP boss believes his style of play will be clear to see from the off.
"I think you will see an idea," he told the club's website. "You could like it or not, I don't know, but you will see an idea.
"You will see a positioning. You will see something that we want to reach that kind of level. You will feel that.
"We have to know it's [only] two trainings before the first match. This is the best league in the world. But if I have to say something to you, [it's that] you will see an idea. This I can guarantee."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ipswich Town - Liam Delap
Delap scored what proved to be Ipswich's winner against Tottenham and has now netted six of his side's 12 Premier League goals this term.
That makes the Manchester City academy product one of only three players to have scored at least half of his side's goals in the competition this season, along with Erling Haaland at City (55%) and Chris Wood at Nottingham Forest (53%).
Manchester United - Alejandro Garnacho
Garnacho was among the scorers against Leicester two weeks ago and has now been directly involved in 20 Premier League goals for United (13 goals and seven assists).
The Argentina international is one of only two non-British players to reach that figure for United before turning 21, along with Cristiano Ronaldo (25 goals).
MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER UNITED WIN
Ipswich are seeking back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since February 2022, with that run also beginning with a 2-1 victory against Tottenham.
The Tractor Boys are the only side in the competition without a home win this season. Only five newly promoted clubs have failed to win any of their first six home matches, all of whom went back down.
United have won 17 of their past 19 Premier League games against newly promoted opponents, meanwhile, including nine wins in a row in away fixtures.
The Red Devils were 1-0 winners on their most recent league trip to Portman Road in April 2022, but only once have they won successive league games away to Ipswich.
However, the Tractor Boys have lost four of their past five league matches against Man United, failing to score in each of those losses.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Ipswich Town - 22.2%
Draw - 23%
Manchester United - 54.8%
Sahin enjoying more options as Borussia Dortmund injury list shortens
Borussia Dortmund will have several players back from injury for their Bundesliga game against visitors Freiburg on Saturday, with coach Nuri Sahin relieved to have more options again.
The Ruhr valley club have had as many as 10 players injured at some stage as they have dropped to seventh place in the league, 10 points off leaders Bayern Munich.
But they will now have five players back for their return to action, including goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, as well as Gio Reyna, Julien Duranville, Waldemar Anton and Jamie Gittens.
"After a long time there is more good news than bad news regarding injuries," Sahin told a press conference on Thursday.
"I don't expect Gio and Duranville, for example, to be at 100% but the physios have done a great job.
"So if they are in the squad that means they can play. I'm just happy to be able to take decisions. We can now take some nice decisions."
Until the international break last week, Dortmund, who travel to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League next week, struggled with injuries and failed to win any of their away matches in the league, losing touch with the leading teams.
Dortmund, who have 16 points from 10 games, will be without injured defender Niklas Sule and suspended captain Emre Can.
"I had said we were running on fumes before the international break because we had to play with the same team," Sahin said.
"I think we played with an almost identical lineup in five consecutive games. I hope that in the coming weeks we will be able to rotate more.
Slot deserves praise for modest approach to Liverpool job – Mills
Arne Slot deserves praise for not being "arrogant" with his approach to succeeding Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool boss, according to Danny Mills.
The Dutchman has made a hugely positive start to life at Anfield since replacing long-serving Klopp ahead of the 2024-25 season.
The 28 points Slot has collected is the joint-most of any manager in their opening 11 Premier League games along with Guus Hiddink at Chelsea.
Liverpool's only blemish on an otherwise perfect start to the top-flight campaign was a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in September.
Indeed, only in 2019-20 (31 points) have Liverpool collected more points after 11 games of a Premier League season than their 28 this campaign.
Former Leeds United and Manchester City defender Mills has been particularly impressed by Slot's approach to a new era at Anfield.
"Arne Slot has surprised me," Mills told Stats Perform. "They did have a difficult defeat against Nottingham Forest at home. That was a defeat not many people saw that coming, but the start he's had is unbelievable. It's incredible.
"Training might be slightly different, but the style of play is very similar. The players are comfortable with it. They've been high-energy, closing people down, and playing at 100 miles an hour when they win the ball back.
"It shows managerial intelligence to understand the players' qualities and build on what they had when they were successful. He hasn't overthought it or tinkered too much.
"He hasn’t been arrogant and said, 'I'm going to rip it up and start fresh'. It wasn't broken; it was already successful. He's just added to it."
Liverpool won a first ever Premier League title during Klopp's eight-and-a-half years in charge, as well the Champions League in 2018-19.
Klopp also lifted the FA Cup, two EFL Cups, the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, setting a high benchmark to follow.
"Liverpool identified the man they wanted, brought him in, and he's been very clever," Mills added. "He looked at the squad and thought, 'these are good players. I don't need to change too much'.
"That's smart because Liverpool were very successful under Klopp. If you come in and rip up the playbook and it doesn't work, players will question why they're not doing what worked under Klopp."
Liverpool have conceded just six goals in the Premier League this season – four fewer than next-best Nottingham Forest.
They are conceding at a rate of around 0.5 goals per game, compared to around 1.1 in Klopp's final season in charge (41 goals in 38 matches).
"Slot has tweaked things slightly, maybe made them more defensively solid, which they needed to really challenge," Mills said. "Championship-winning or Champions League-winning teams are built on solid defences.
"You don't win without that. He's shored up the defence and allowed the players to continue doing what they were doing before."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
