Juventus’ defence of their Serie A crown got off to the perfect start at the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Saturday evening as they kicked off the campaign with a 1-0 defeat of Parma.
It wasn’t always an easy ride for the Bianconeri though and their hosts did make life difficult for them at times, but a first-half Giorgio Chiellini strike was enough for them to pick up three points.
Serie A has returned and it's just like we were never away!
The champions took the points in #ParmaJuventus thanks to an unlikely goalscorer in Giorgio Chiellini. @ConJClancy is at the Tardini for the first #FIFattheGames of 2019/20.
Report ? https://t.co/cge2gJg4Bb pic.twitter.com/Po1hXKmCfy
— ForzaItalianFootball (@SerieAFFC) August 24, 2019
Sarri’s surprises
Nobody expected Sami Khedira to have much of a role at Juve this season but the German started at the Tardini, as did Gonzalo Higuain and Blaise Matuidi.
Adrien Rabiot and Matthijs de Ligt were left on the bench, suggesting that the new boys may have to bide their time before establishing themselves in Turin, or perhaps they’ll have to fight even harder than expected to break into the starting XI.
How much of a say Sarri had in the day’s proceedings remains to be seen but it’s hard to imagine that Giovanni Martusciello would have acted in a way that the coach wouldn’t have approved of.
Juventus’ depth is impressive
Aaron Ramsey wasn’t even on the bench, but Juventus still had a number of high-profile options to come into the midfield on their bench.
Rabiot, Federico Bernardeschi and Juan Cuadrado did come on, but World Cup winner Emre Can and apparent Barcelona target Rodrigo Bentancur stayed on the sidelines.
Similarly impressive are their options up top, with neither Mario Mandzukic nor Paulo Dybala getting a run out, though it’s not known if they’ll actually be counted upon term or if they’ll be playing elsewhere by the transfer window’s closure on September 2.
Sarri hasn’t been shy in suggesting that there are too many options at the club and with him not the most fond of rotations, this luxury could become a headache before long if players aren’t offloaded.
Parma’s evolution
Gervinho is still likely to be a key player in Parma’s attack this season, but the over-reliance on the Ivorian could be a thing of the past with the canny additions they’ve made this summer.
Both Dejan Kulusevski and Yann Karamoh featured at points. The latter barley had ten minutes on the pitch, but the Swedish youngster started and, against Juventus, that says a lot about how highly rated he is.
Still evidently raw, it’s clear that there’s a talent there and he could be a player who grows into the 2019/20 campaign, while Karamoh will be hungry to take any opportunity he is given.
Bruno’s protection
Captain Bruno Alves’ importance for the Crociati cannot be overstated but losing his defensive partner Alessandro Bastoni this summer won’t have come as good news for the Portuguese.
The 37-year-old’s role is likely to become even more pivotal to their success and he’ll be thankful for Gaston Brugman’s arrival.
It’s early days yet but the Uruguayan looked a real gem in his first appearance at the Tardini. Happy to sit in front of the backline, he was able to organise and orchestrate from deep, while also displaying a good technical ability and proving useful with his set-piece deliveries as well.
