It was the first Serie A fixture for league leaders Juventus as Italy’s top flight restarted after months of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Juventus' Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo (C) stands between Juventus' Argentine forward Paulo Dybala (L) and Juventus' Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic prior to shooting a free kick during the Italian Serie A football match Bologna vs Juventus on June 22, 2020 at the Renato-Dall'Ara stadium in Bologna, as the country eases its lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP)
Juventus managed to put their Coppa Italia final disappointment at the back seat as they restarted their Serie A campaign with a 2-0 win over Bologna, thanks to a stupendous strike from Paulo Dybala and a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday.
It was the first Serie A fixture for league leaders Juventus as Italy’s top-flight restarted after more than three months of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Old Lady entered Monday’s game with one-point lead over second-placed Lazio.
Juventus came into the match after narrowly missing out the Coppa Italia title to Napoli on penalties a few days back. As fielded by Maurizio Sarri, Federico Bernardeschi started in the three-man forward line alongside Ronaldo and Dybala at an empty Renato Dall’Ara Stadium.
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The first breakthrough came in the 23rd minute after Dutch midfielder Matthis de Ligt was fouled inside the Bologna box and Portuguese veteran Ronaldo converted a regulation penalty.
The Bionconeri extended the lead 13 minutes later when Argentine striker Dybala put on display a moment of magic. Bernardeschi’s smart back-heel found the 27-year-old who unleashed a brilliant twist-and-turn effort from the edge of the box with both power and precision.
Juventus left-back Mattia De Sciglio then picked up an injury, making way for Danilo in the 64th minute. Reports suggested that the Italian international would be sidelined for at least 15 days.
Ronaldo found the net again in the 89th minute, but the goal was chalked off as Douglas Costa was offside in the build-up.
Juventus finished the match with ten men as Danilo was sent off in the dying minutes, meaning coach Maurizio Sarri will have no recognized left-backs at his disposal for Juve’s next game at home to Lecce on June 26.
Elsewhere in Serie A, AC Milan claimed a 4-1 away win over relegation-threatened Lecce.
Marco Mancosu’s penalty after the break canceled out Samuel Castillejo’s opener for Milan, but goals from Giacomo Bonaventura, Ante Rebic and Rafael Leao saw the away side register a convincing win.
In the day’s other fixture, Fiorentina and Brescia shared the spoils with a 1-1 draw.
With IANS inputs
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