Juventus overcame a sluggish first-half display to kick off the defense of their Serie A crown with a 2-0 victory at home to Parma on Saturday.
A pair of quick-fire goals shortly before the hour from Stephan Lichtsteiner and Andrea Pirlo proved the difference between the sides, after Arturo Vidal had seen a first-half penalty saved.
Juve have not lost in the league since May 15 last year and their unbeaten run now stands at 24 victories and 16 draws, which is a record in the Italian top flight.
The champions’ preparations were nonetheless seriously undermined when coach Antonio Conte was handed a 10-month ban for failing to disclose information about match-fixing during his time at Siena in the 2010-2011 season.
In his absence, Massimo Carrera has been promoted to take control of first-team affairs on match days, but he saw his charges make an uncertain start to proceedings at Juventus Stadium.
Largely devoid of any inspiration, the hosts managed to win a penalty in the 33rd minute when Lichtsteiner was fouled by visiting goalkeeper Antonio Mirate, but Vidal’s spot-kick was saved.
Things improved after the interval and Lichtsteiner gave Juve the lead in the 55th minute when he converted a cut-back from the excellent Kwadwo Asamoah, who was making his Serie A debut after a close-season move from Udinese.
Pirlo, star of Italy’s run to the Euro 2012 final, made it 2-0 with a low free-kick three minutes later, although Parma’s players protested that the ball had not crossed the goal-line.
The margin of victory could have been more handsome had Sebastian Giovinco shown more accuracy with a right-foot shot in the 68th minute.
The diminutive playmaker caught the eye against the club he left to rejoin Juve in the summer — for his third stint at the Turin club — but he had to leave the fray due to injury in the 80th minute.
Jonathan Biabiany had twice gone close for the visitors early in the first half, while Parma substitutes Ishak Belfodil and Sotiris Ninis threatened in the game’s final quarter.
In the first match of the season, ACF Fiorentina came from behind to beat Udinese 2-1 thanks to a brace from Montenegrin attacker Stevan Jovetic, who claimed his decisive second goal in injury-time.
Third last season, visitors Udinese appeared visibly tired after their mid-week trip to Portuguese side Sporting Braga for the first-leg match of their Champions League play-off tie, which saw them emerge with a 1-1 draw.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS