Juventus 2 Fiorentina 1: New boy Gonzalo Higuain climbs off bench to fire champions to winning start in Serie A
£75million striker gets the Old Lady off to a winning start in Serie A as they aim for sixth successive title triumph
GONZALO HIGUAIN came off the bench to score the winner as Juventus got their season started with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Fiorentina.
The £75million summer signing from Real Madrid notched with only his third touch to seal the points as Juve aim for a sixth successive Serie A triumph.
One of the biggest fixtures in Italy saw Fiorentina boss Paulo Sousa hand 18-year-old Federico Chiesa, the 18-year-old son of the legendary striker Enrico, a debut against their bitter rivals. Meanwhile, Dani Alves made his bow for Juve.
And the reigning champions got their season was up and running when Sami Khedira broke the deadlock with a header from Giorgio Chiellini’s cross on 37 minutes.
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The hosts were on top early doors and they thought they should have had a penalty when Davide Astori appeared to handle inside his own area – but the referee ruled it accidental after the ball bounced up to his hand from his leg.
Kwadwo Asamoah fired over and Paulo Dybala was inches wide with a curling strike as Juve pressed for the opener before Khedira stepped up to give them the lead at the break.
Nikola Kalinic drew the visitors’ level on 70 minutes, powerfully heading home from a corner – but they would only be level for four minutes.
Khedira received the ball in acres of space on the penalty spot and although his shot was deflected, Higuain was on hand to turn in the rebound from a tight angle and seal the points.
Elsewhere, a resounding second half display saw Roma crush Udinese 4-0 thanks to a brace of penalties from Diego Perotti and strikes from Edin Dzeko and Mohamed Salah.
The Giallorossi handed a debut to Bruno Peres while the visitors gave bows to Seko Fofana and Rodrigo De Paul.
After a goalless opening half the Yellow and Reds were much more aggressive after the restart and were rewarded as they blitzed their way to victory.
The opener came when Danilo mistimed his sliding tackle and took down Dzeko, allowing sub Perotti to convert from the spot.
A second spot-kick and goal arrived shortly after as Salah was felled by Emmanuel Badu, allowing Perotti grab his double – becoming the first man to convert two penalties in the same Serie A match since Vincenzo Montella in 2002.
Dzeko side-footed home a third as the Udinese defence began to capitulate and it was left to Salah to seal the rout late on.