Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus celebrates after scoring a goal against Hellas Verona in an Italian Serie A match at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi in Verona, Italy, August 26, 2024. /CFP
Juventus beat Verona 3-0 at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi in Verona, Italy, on Monday, pocketing their second straight win to open the 2024-25 Italian Serie A season.
The "Old Lady" are the only club to have won both of their first two games in Italy's top flight, scoring six goals while keeping two clean sheets. They led 2-0 in the first half after Dusan Vlahovic and Nicolo Savona found the net in the 28th and 39th minutes. The game marked Savona's full debut for Juventus.
Samuel Mbangula earned a penalty for Juventus in the 52nd minute when he broke into the box from the left wing. The spot kick was converted by Vlahovic to add his second goal and the team's third in the contest.
"You can see the group's attitude from the way they press the opponent. They take risks, but if you recover the ball, it's a big advantage," Juventus coach Thiago Motta told DAZN. "Congratulations to Dusan, but also to all the others who applied good pressure, allowing us to score."
"We got the three points, I'm happy for Savona, for the team and for the fans," Vlahovic said after the game. "I was a bit unlucky with Como, but today the goals arrived and I'm happy with the attitude of the team. The results are the consequence of the work we do."
Patrick Cutrone of Como passes the ball against Cagliari in an Italian Serie A match at the Unipol Domus in Cagliari, Italy, August 26, 2024. /CFP
In Monday's other Serie A match, newly-promoted Como held Cagliari to a 1-1 draw on the road, earning their first Serie A point in 21 years.
Cagliari scored first after Roberto Piccolo snuck in between a hesitant defender and goalkeeper to nod home in the 44th minute. Alberto Dossena headed down a corner kick from the right to set up Patrick Cutrone to equalize the game in the 53rd minute.
"I felt the victory was close. We deserved more in the second half, having played with courage and character," Como coach Cesc Fabregas said. "I am happy, because this is a difficult place to play, but at the same time, we need to improve and as soon as possible get used to the Serie A tempo."