Thiago Motta beats Cesc Fabregas as Juventus start Serie A with a win

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New coach Thiago Motta led Juventus to a comfortable 3-0 win over newly-promoted Como in their Serie A opener at a sold-out Allianz Stadium on Monday, sparking turnaround hopes at the Turin-based club.

Forward Samuel Mbangula and winger Timothy Weah netted inside the first half, both scoring their first goals for Juve in Serie A, before Andrea Cambiaso added the third from a distance in stoppage time.

Rejuvenated Juventus start a new chapter under Motta, who led Bologna to the Champions League last season and will now hope to bring the Serie A title back to Turin for the first time in four years.

It was a harsh night for visitors Como, who challenged Juve for possession but lacked the quality to create clear chances on their return to the Italian top flight after 21 years.

Como, coached by former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, sealed promotion to Serie A after finishing second in Italy’s second tier last season, three points behind Serie B champions Parma.

Juventus appeared confident from the off and Dusan Vlahovic threatened Como’s goal in the 20th minute when his header went just wide, before Mbangula put them in front in the 23rd with a solo effort.

The 20-year-old struck low from the edge of the box, sending the ball into the bottom corner on his first-team debut following a season with Juve’s reserves.

Mbangula also became the youngest Belgian goalscorer in the history of Serie A and the first Belgian player to score in the Italian top flight for Juve.

Juventus extended their lead in first-half stoppage time through Weah, who fired home a Kenan Yildiz cross and saw the ball bounce in off the inside of the bar.

The hosts restarted on the front foot and Vlahovic thought he had made it 3-0 just after the break, nodding home a Juan Cabal cross – but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Cambiaso, however, added the third goal in the dying minutes.

Motta appeared well pleased with his new team after they strolled to the win, and told a press conference that he “was satisfied with the performance but above all with the result. We deserved to win”.

“Today I liked the defensive phase, understanding the moment to press, recompose, the willingness of the attackers, of Dusan (Vlahovic) to start the first pressing.

“I’m satisfied. We can improve there too and we’ll try to do it in everything. I think this team should and can do it.”

Juve, who won nine consecutive championships between 2012 and 2020, are hoping for a fresh start under the Italian-Brazilian coach, whose main objective will be to secure the first Serie A crown for the Turin club in four years.

“Humility is always needed,” Motta said. “Like that of Dusan today in dropping back to consolidate the team... we played well against a very good team that was coming with great enthusiasm.

“We faced them with great respect, in the right way: defending ourselves together; when we have the ball we have players of great quality, with a great understanding of the moment and the game and we did very well throughout the match.”

“We need to recover from this game, regain our energy and focus on Hellas Verona,” Motta added.

“We will face a tricky team, they demonstrated that on the first day and we have to do a good job.”

Juventus, who finished third behind Inter and Milan last season to secure their return to the Champions League following a year’s absence, next travel to Hellas Verona on 26 August.

Como visit Cagliari earlier that day.

Reuters