Turin, August 16 (BNA): Juventus beat Sassuolo with a double by Dusan Vlahovic, including a penalty kick, to lead the Torino team to a 3-0 victory at home at the start of its Serie A campaign on Monday.
Juventus opened the scoring in the 26th minute through Angel Di Maria, who hit a cross from Alex Sandro to the ground with goalkeeper Andrea Consigli rebounding, Reuters reported.
Vlahovic doubled Juventus’ lead with a penalty kick in the 43rd minute, after Gian Marco Ferrari prevented the Serbia international from scoring by blocking his arms.
This is his tenth goal for Juventus since he joined the club in January from Fiorentina, after he hit the post earlier.
Vlahovic got his second goal in the 51st minute when he slammed to score from a crucial pass from Di Maria, who was forced out in the 66th minute with a thigh problem and was replaced by Fabio Meretti.
The 34-year-old Argentine striker joined Juventus as a free agent in July on a one-year deal after leaving Paris St Germain at the end of last season.
“How does it feel to play with Di Maria? It’s an unbelievable feeling, it’s a pleasure to play with these champions, and I thank him for the help,” Vlahovic told reporters.
“What matters is being available for the team and winning. He played an extraordinary game.”
Vlahovic almost crowned his performance with a hat-trick in the 86th minute, but his attempt veered away from the post.
Juventus travel to Sampdoria next Monday after hosting newly promoted Sassuolo Lecce on Saturday.
Napoli also got off to a great start with a 5-2 win over Verona in the opening match of Serie A earlier on Monday.
Pyotr Zelensky and Stanislav Lobotka’s second-half goals helped Luciano Spalletti’s team advance 4-2 before Matteo Politano fired in the fifth half to take the final kick.