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Juventus continued their impressive start to 2022 after beating Hellas Verona in Serie A. The Bianconeri made a poor start to the season, but they’ve upped their game in recent weeks.
Massimiliano Allegri's side went into Sunday’s game on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run in Serie A. The record winners extended that streak to nine following a comfortable victory over Verona.
The most impressive aspect about the win was that Juventus created many chances. Despite enjoying less possession than Verona, the Bianconeri looked the more threatening side. Debutants Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria turned out to be the match-winners as the hosts recorded a deserved 2-0 victory in Turin.
Dusan Vlahovic makes dream debut for Juventus
Juventus knew exactly what they were getting when they forked out £66.6 million to prise away Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina in the January transfer window.
It took the 22-year-old just 13 minutes to open his goal account for the Bianconeri. Latching on to a through pass from Paulo Dybala, Vlahovic finished with aplomb. The Serbian striker maintained his composure to lob the ball past the onrushing Verona goalkeeper to open the scoring for the hosts.
He came close to adding a second as he tried to guide a cross from Alvaro Morata towards goal, but saw his effort miss the target by inches. It was a productive debut for Vlahovic, so fans will expect more of the same from him in the next few games.
Juventus break into top four
Meanwhile, Juventus’ win over Verona coupled with Atalanta’s 2-1 defeat against Cagliari means the Bianconeri have now moved into the Champions League places.
It’s the first time this season Allegri’s side has broken into the top four. That is welcome news, considering how poorly they began their campaign.
“It was a tough game, as Verona ran hard; we took the right approach, and the forwards worked hard; while we created chances, showed quality and are happy with the performance,” the Juventus boss said, as quoted by Football Italia.
“Having said that, it’s important we stay focused, keep our feet on the ground, because there’s a long road ahead of us. Verona made it really difficult with their challenges and duels, but we had such enthusiasm, it would’ve been a pity not to mark it with a victory.”
The Bianconeri are now eight points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan, who have a game in hand. Even if they cannot crawl their way back into the title race, a top-four finish would be considered a success. Allegri admitted as much:
“The Scudetto is between Inter, Milan and Napoli, we are out of it right now. As for the Champions League, it’s still wide open. We have to take it one step at a time, Atalanta have a game in hand and we go head-to-head on Sunday."
