Juventus opened their quest for an eighth straight Serie
A title with a last-gasp 3-2 at Chievo on Saturday, producing a
lukewarm season start despite the debut of new signing Cristiano
Ronaldo.
Sami Khedira scored an early opener as Juve took control in Verona,
only to be stunned by Mariusz Stepinski's header on 38 minutes and
fall behind when their former winger Emanuele Giaccherini converted a
penalty on 56.
An own goal from Mattia Bani put Juve level again at 2-2 and Ronaldo
forced two tough saves from veteran Stefano Sorrentino before
substitute Federico Bernardeschi turned in a low cross in stoppage
time.
"Beside the goal, I am happy because we got three points here in
Verona, with this heat," said Bernardeschi, who came on on 56
minutes.
"It is important to play with the heart, despite the champions we
have. It can happen that you lose pace, we know it is hard to be
focused early in the season."
Khedira slammed home in the third off a Giorgio Chiellini header and
the Bianconeri came close from Juan Cuadrado and twice with Ronaldo
before Stepinski was free to nod past his Polish compatriot Wojciech
Szczesny.
A Joao Cancelo foul on Giaccherini allowed the home winger to put the
hosts ahead, which triggered the Bianconeri's fierce reaction with
missed chances from substitutes Bernardeschi and Mario Mandzukic and
the in-form Ronaldo.
Leonardo Bonucci, who is back after a lacklustre season at AC Milan,
pounced on a corner kick and forced Bani's unlucky deflection on 77
before video review disallowed a Mandzukic goal for a Ronaldo foul on
Sorrentino, who left the pitch with a head injury before
Bernardeschi's winner.
The winger connected with a low feed by Alex Sandro three minutes
into stoppage time.
"What struck me most," Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri said, "is how
seamlessly (Ronaldo) blended into the team. He had a good game.
Sorrentino denied him the joy of scoring, but in the end he was happy
about the win."
Later in Rome, star coach Carlo Ancelotti opened his term at Napoli
with a 2-1 rally against Lazio.
Ciro Immobile had the better of tree defenders to beat Orestis
Karnezis into the far corner, but Akadiusz Milik levelled by
half-time and Lorenzo Insigne curled in from the left for a
59th-minute winner.
Immobile topped the past scorers' chart on 29 goals alongside Inter
Milan's Mauro Icardi, who captains the Nerazzurri at Sassuolo in
Sunday's five-game programme. Atalanta and Frosinone meet Monday.
A minute's silence is observed before games to commemorate the 43
people who died when a motorway bridged collapsed in Genoa on
Tuesday.
The city's two Serie A teams had their opening games postponed in the
wake of the tragedy. Sampdoria will now host Fiorentina in
mid-September, and Genoa's game at AC Milan was moved to late
October.