Solid Serie A start as Juve overpower Parma | OneFootball

A solid Serie A start at home.

Juventus opened the Serie A season with a victory in front of a sold out Allianz Stadium. The Bianconeri beat Parma 2-0 thanks to goals from both Jonathan David and Dusan Vlahovic, both assisted by Kenan Yildiz. It was a hard-fought victory, decided in the second half after an evenly balanced first half.

First Half: Balance and Chances

The match started at a good pace from both sides. In the 5th minute, Parma pushed forward with Lovik, whose shot was deflected by Cambiaso and ended up for a corner. Juventus responded in the 13th minute with a Conceicao header from a Thuram cross, forcing Suzuki into a smart save.

The Bianconeri were trying to find an opening, however in the 17th minute, Parma looked to take advantage of a mistake by Cambiaso. Lovik crossed in from the right, but Di Gregorio was alert to the danger. In the 18th minute, David and Yildiz unfortunately had a miscommunication at the back post, where a dangerous cross could have fallen to one of them, however the chance fizzled out. Juventus threatened again in the 23rd minute from a set piece, with Thuram heading just over the bar.

Tudor's team came close to taking the lead in the 39th minute. Thuram played a great ball to Kalulu, but Valeri got there first at the vital moment. Just before the break, Kelly had a shot from distance, which was unfortunately deflected away from goal by Gatti.

Goaless at the break.

Second Half: Yildiz makes the difference

The second half began with Juventus coming out looking more fired up. In the 48th minute, Gatti grazed the crossbar with a left-footed drive from outside the box. In the 51st minute, Yildiz shot just wide and then just three minutes later, the Bianconeri hit the post with a Conceicao effort, whose shot was deflected by Keita and hit the post.

Tudor made a double substitution in the 57th minute, bringing on Koopmeiners and Joao Mario in place of Locatelli and Gatti. Two minutes later, the goal came. Yildiz got away from his man on the left and put a perfect ball across the face of goal to David, who timed his run to perfection and beat Suzuki with the outside of his right foot to make it 1-0.

Juventus continued to create chances in an attempt to double their lead with Thuram in the 65th minute and Yildiz in the 80th, but both of which were denied by the Parma goalkeeper. In the 83rd minute, there was an incident that could have given Parma a lifeline. Cambiaso raised his hands towards Lovik’s face and was sent off with a straight red card, which saw the Bianconeri reduced to ten men. However, Juventus did not lose their composure, and in fact, doubled their lead six minutes from time: Yildiz again led the counterattack and set up Vlahovic, who beat Suzuki to make it 2-0.

In the final minutes, Parma tried to grab a late consolation goal. Bernabè tested Di Gregorio, who saved smartly from a long distance effort, and that was the last chance of the match.

The Serie A season got off to the best possible start.

Gallery | Juventus vs Parma

The Match Report | Juventus - Parma 2-0

Goal Scorers: David 59', Vlahovic 84'

Juventus: Di Gregorio; Bremer, Gatti (57' Joao Mario), Kelly; Kalulu; Thuram, Locatelli (57' Koopmeiners), Cambiaso; Conceicao (80' Conceicao), Yildiz (89' McKennie); David (80' Vlahovic). Unused subs: Pinsoglio, Fuscaldo, Adzic, Kostic, Rugani, Rouhi. Coach: Tudor

Parma: Suzuki; Delprato, Circati, Valenti; Lovik (88' Djuric), Bernabé, Keita (88' Estevez), Ordonez (56' Sorensen), Valeri; Almqvist (80' Benedyczak), Pellegrino. Unused subs: Corvi, Rinaldi, Begic, Joujou, Amoran, Plicco, Sits. Coach: Cuesta

Referee: Marcenaro Yellow Cards: Juventus: Gatti; Parma: Suzuki, Sorensen Red card: Juventus: Cambiaso 83'