Juventus Make Ideal Start To New Serie A Season With Win Over Sassuolo

Juventus got their 2022/23 season underway with a win on Monday night, eventually scoring three goals without reply to take the points against a thoroughly underwhelming Sassuolo.

It was a match that showed some positive signs for the Bianconeri, with the performance of Ángel Di María undoubtedly at the forefront of them. The Argentina international showed the qualities that have been on display during the course of his career, even if he wasn’t initially deployed as wide as he has been in the past.

Instead, Max Allegri opted to field Di María tucked in behind Dušan Vlahović but, during the first half cooling break, the Coach made a switch that would alter the course of the game.

Redeploying his troops in a 4-3-3 framework, Danilo later revealed to DAZN that Allegri told the team the shift would help Juve “get the ball to our front players who have a lot of quality.”

That certainly proved to be the case as just a few minutes later, Di María broke the deadlock with a superb left-footed volley that delighted the Juventus Stadium crowd.

What cannot be overlooked on that passage of play is the cross from Alex Sandro, who had something of a throwback performance, bombing up and down the left flank as he did in the years before his recent funk (which was discussed in this previous column).

After that assist to Di María, the full-back was also responsible for an excellent long ball to Vlahović that eventually saw the big striker pulled down by Gian Marco Ferrari.

The resultant penalty would be taken by the man in the no.9 shirt, and he would make no mistake to double Juve’s advantage. With that goal coming just before half-time, Sassuolo knew they would need to start the second half strongly, but would concede for a third time after just five minutes.

Moments after missing a chance of his own, Di María would smartly intercept a pass and slot the ball through to Vlahović who netted easily beyond goalkeeper Andrea Consigli.

“It’s an incredible sensation to play with Di Maria, it’s so pleasing to work with such champions and I thank him for the assist,” Vlahović said to DAZN after the final whistle. “He had an extraordinary game.”

That is undeniably true, which made the news of a thigh injury for the 34-year-old even harder to take. He was substituted with 25 minutes left to play, and a statement on the official Juventus website revealed Di María’s low grade lesion will be “re-evaluated in 10 days.”

One other notable point is that Sassuolo ended the game having enjoyed 57.6% of possession according to WhoScored.com, Juve attacking quickly while their opponents opted for a more patient approach.

What makes that figure even more interesting is that up until Di María’s 26th-minute strike, it was Juve who had dominated proceedings, eating up 58.9% of possession before easing off after taking the lead.

That was a definite choice by the Old Lady, and it will be intriguing to see if that trend continues over the next few games. The same can be said for the integration of Juve’s newest signing, who found himself thrown on by Allegri with around 30 minutes left to play.

Filip Kostić has always been a versatile wide player, but seeing his first action coming at left-back will certainly make things tougher on Alex Sandro who has had very little competition for his place over the last few years.

If the presence of Kostić – signed from Eintracht Frankfurt for €12 million ($12.21m) last week – can spur him to more performances like this one, then that can only be good news for the Bianconeri.

With three points, two goals for Vlahović, a smart tactical shift by Allegri and impressive debuts from Kostić, Bremer and – of course – Di María, Juventus can be very pleased with their Week One performance.