Juventus 2-0 Parma: Vlahovic and David Seal Win as Cambiaso Sees Red
Juventus did not need to field a complete squad to beat Parma. Twelve minutes of play, two moments of individual brilliance from Kenan Yildiz, and a substitute team that performed when needed were enough. On Saturday, they won 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium, with the match played a man short in the final stages. In the first half, little happened apart from a warning to Federico Gatti in the 14th minute, as both teams took their time to assess one another during the tight start. In the hour, Juventus made their intentions clear by replacing Manuel Locatelli with Teun Koopmeiners, and Parma replied by bringing on Oliver Sorensen for Christian Ordoñez. The two changes brought almost immediate results for the home side; two minutes later, Jonathan David scored the opening goal after receiving a pass from Yildiz, giving Juventus the lead. Sorensen booked Parma in the 70th minute after a foul in a dangerous area, and the match began to grow tense. Juventus once again turned to their substitutes: in the 80th minute, David was replaced by Dusan Vlahovic, and a minute later Francisco Conceição came on for Nico Gonzalez to provide fresh legs and help secure the lead, which now seemed fragile. One moment could have ruined everything. In the 83rd minute, Andrea Cambiaso was given a straight red card, so Juventus had to manage the final minutes with ten men and a one-goal advantage against a Parma team that was now smelling of blood. Yet the fewer numbers made no difference. Sixty seconds later, Vlahovic scored. The Serbian striker, who had only been on the pitch for four minutes, fired home past the Parma goalkeeper to extend the lead, with Yildiz once again supplying the assist for the second time in the game. It was a severe reply, achieved by a substitute, at the very moment when Parma had a chance to get back into the match. In the final minutes, Juventus secured the victory with new players, replacing Yildiz with Weston McKennie in the 89th minute after the 21-year-old had not scored but had been involved in setting up both goals. Parma also made some late substitutions, bringing on Milan Djuric and Nahuel Estevez in the hope of achieving something, anything, to salvage their trip to Turin. However, nothing happened. The final whistle confirmed Juventus had secured their second consecutive clean sheet and their second straight win to start the Serie A season. This result leaves the two teams level early in the season. Juventus come into this match after winning their opening game at Frosinone 1-0 and now have six points from six matches, a good foundation for a club aiming to return to the top four after missing out on qualification last season. On the other hand, Parma have not won any of their first two games and have accumulated no points, having also lost their opening match at home to Cagliari. Carlos Cuesta will have to answer questions about a team that couldn't respond even when playing with ten men, while the lesson for Juventus is that their squad is big enough that playing with ten players didn't affect them and that the teenager Yildiz, who wasn't even guaranteed to play, provided two assists in the game.
