Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri was wowed by the “ease” of Cristiano Ronaldo’s acclimatisation as his Serie A debut ended with a 3-2 win against Chievo.
All eyes were on the Portugal forward following his €100 million (Dh420.5m) summer transfer from Real Madrid – but it needed a team effort from the defending champions to secure three points in Verona.
Sami Khedira put the visitors in front after just three minutes, before Mariusz Stepinski equalised with a towering header.
Chievo went 2-1 ahead from the penalty spot early in the second half through a penalty from former Juve winger Emanuele Giaccherini, before an own goal from defender Mattia Bani levelled things up again.
Substitute Mario Mandzukic thought he had won it with a late header, given by goalline technology, only for the effort to be ruled out following a referral by the Video Assistant Referee.
The decision, following a lengthy review on the pitchside monitor by Fabrizio Pasqua, appeared to be for a handball from Ronaldo in the build-up, which saw Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino take a heavy blow and eventually need to be replaced.
Juve, though, showed the spirit of champions to score a legitimate winner deep into five minutes of stoppage time when Bernardeschi turned in a low cross from Alex Sandro.
“Cristiano held up well on his debut, it’s a pity he didn’t score but he worked well with the team after only seven days together,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri.
“I was struck by how at ease he was in the team, he was very happy with the win at the end, he had a good match.
“It’s a victory that we needed, to get us into the championship.”
⏳ High drama with a happy ending for our boys ⚽️😯💪🏳🏴
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) August 18, 2018
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Ronaldo’s eight attempts on goal was the most by any Juve players. His new employers will hope to see this statistic soon reflected in the goals-scored column.
“We let our focus dip after the first goal, we thought we had the match in the bag,” said Allegri.
“Ronaldo had several shots on target today, Sorrentino made several saves, there were also some good movements that were not rewarded by the midfielders.
“He pulled a lot, he moved between the lines, but he was not being served on several occasions.
“We were caught napping on the equaliser and did better with Bernardeschi and Mandzukic coming on towards the end,” added Allegri.
“We need to find balance, but the most important thing is not to fall asleep when we’re doing well.”
