TURIN, Italy :Juventus opened their Serie A campaign with a 2-0 home win over Parma on Sunday, sealed by debutant Jonathan David’s opener and a late tap-in from Dusan Vlahovic.
There were few chances for either side in the first half and Juve’s Francisco Conceicao went closest early on with a diving header that forced Parma goalkeeper Zion Suzuki into a full-stretch save to keep it out.
Parma came out sharper after the break and nearly struck within minutes. Mateo Pellegrino broke through only to be denied by a superb last-ditch block from Gleison Bremer that kept Juve level.
The scare seemed to jolt the hosts into life and they soon piled on the pressure.
Kenan Yildiz and Conceicao repeatedly found space on the wings, creating several chances for Juve early in the second half, with Conceicao rattling the bar with a deflected strike.
In the 59th minute, Yildiz burst free down the flank and whipped in a pinpoint pass to David, who stole a step on his marker and coolly finished with the outside of his boot to put Juve ahead.
PLAYMAKER YILDIZ
Yildiz could have doubled Juve’s lead minutes before the end, but his half-volley was kept out by Suzuki, who reacted sharply to palm it away from the bottom corner.
Andrea Cambiaso was sent off following a tussle with Mathias Fjortoft Lovik in the 83rd minute that ended with the Italian seemingly striking Parma’s Norwegian defender.
A minute later, Juve capitalised with a swift counter as Yildiz drove into the box and squared for substitute Vlahovic, who tapped in to seal the match.
“We played a great game against a strong opponent. I am happy for the players, we did well this week and we hope to continue like this,” Yildiz told DAZN.
Juventus manager Igor Tudor said he saw “many positive things” against a Parma side that he had not expected to be so defensive.
“We didn’t expect Parma to sit so deep, and it wasn’t easy to find space against such a well-organised side,” he said. “We did well not to concede, and it’s never a given to win at home against a team with different ambitions.”
Atalanta, under new coach Ivan Juric, opened with a 1-1 home draw against promoted Pisa, as Isak Hien’s first-half own goal put the visitors ahead but the lead was cancelled out by Gianluca Scamacca five minutes after the restart.
