Weston McKennie made his usual return to the Juventus starting lineup after needing a few weeks to win over another new head coach, helping the team to a crucial win over Inter, while Yunus Musah made his Atalanta debut as La Dea finally got their season on track.
Juventus 4 – 3 Inter Milan
Weston McKennie returned to Juve’s starting lineup on Saturday evening, playing 79 minutes on the left side in their thrilling, high-scoring victory over rivals Inter Milan.
New Bianconeri head coach Igor Tudor opted to deploy the versatile American out wide on the left, and he responded with a competent, albeit unflashy shift, where he completed 19 out of 22 passes, made three tackles, blocked two shots, made a pair of clearances, won four out of ten duels, and committed a pair of fouls.
Lloyd Kelly opened the scoring for Juventus in the 14th minute, capping off a nice string of possession with a side-footed shot from near the spot to the lower right corner.
Hakan Calhanoglu briefly put Inter on equal terms at the half-hour with a low blast from outside the area to the lower right of Michele Di Gregorio’s goal, but his Turkish international teammate Kenan Yildiz restored the lead eight minutes later with an equally impressive 30-yarder from straight out.
Once again, Calhanoglu pulled Inter even in the 65th minute with a sweeping, cross-body blast from the edge of the area to the left of goal, then Marcus Thuram headed in a corner from Federico Dimarco just over ten minutes later for their first lead of the game at 3-2.
McKennie’s evening was ended with 11 minutes remaining in regulation when he was subbed out for Joao Mario in a triple-switch, and then Juve proceeded to put on an impressive final act to seal the win.
French midfielder Khéphren Thuram-Ulien brought the score to 3-3 with seven minutes left when he headed a cross from Yildiz to the right side of goal from seven yards, then substitute Vasilije Adzic blasted the winner in the 91st minute from well over 30 yards out, with Canadian Jonathan David providing the assist.
Juventus are perfect with three wins from three, trailing Inter by goal differential. They are already back in action on Tuesday night when they host Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, then visit Hellas Verona four days later in their next league game.
Atalanta 4 – 1 Lecce
Yunus Musah made his Atalanta debut with a productive substitute appearance on Sunday afternoon, narrowly missing out on an assist in a lopsided win.
In front of the home crowd beginning to lose patience in new head coach Ivan Juric after a pair of disappointing draws, La Dea were first on the board in the 37th minute thanks to a beautiful header by wunderkind Giorgio Scalvini off of a Nicola Zalewski corner.
Six minutes after the half, the enigmatic Charles de Ketelaere made it two for the hosts, threading the needle with a low shot through several defenders and the outstretched hands of keeper Wladimiro Falcone to the lower right corner. Zalewski then added a third with 20 minutes left, receiving the ball in the left flank from Nikola Krstovic, then beating a pair of Lecce defenders while weaving inwards before beating Falcone to the lower left corner.
De Ketelaere then removed any doubt three minutes later with his second of the game, with a wonderful goal that saw him steal the ball from a Lecce defender in open space, then proceed to beat the two center backs on a run towards goal before emphatically striking his shot past Falcone for the 4-0 lead.
Musah made his entrance in the 76th minute as a part of a triple switch, coming in for team captain and primary two-way central midfielder Marten de Roon.
Lecce did net a consolation goal with eight minutes left, a bit of a gift from the Atalanta defense, who were caught ball-watching as Konan N’Dri skirted in from the right edge and launched a shot to the left side of Marco Carnesecchi’s goal.
Musah’s short appearance, which was marked by his usual efficiency on the ball and precise passing, almost became a much more memorable one, after he set up Lazar Samardzic for Atalanta’s fifth goal on a breakaway in the final moments of regulation, however the American was in an office position during the buildup, with the goal correctly called off by the linesman.
Finally with their first Serie A win of the season in the bag, la Dea are slowly creeping up the standings to their more familiar range in the top four. They visit PSG in their Champions League opener on Wednesday, then visit Torino four days later.
AC Milan 1 – 0 Bologna
Christian Pulisic was given most of the evening off after a heavy transatlantic travel schedule, however did play the final 25 minutes to help AC Milan seal a narrow win over Bologna on Sunday.
Prior to Luca Modric’s goal just past the hour mark, the only real notable moment in the game was when Milan keeper and captain Mike Maignan was forced to leave the field with a calf injury, which will keep him out of the lineup for up to two months.
Modric’s goal to ultimately give Milan the win showed why the Rossoneri were so eager to sign the 40 year-old Croatian; he was able to sneakily time his run and find an open line of attack between a pair off Bologna defenders as they were focused on Alexis Saelemaekers on the right, and one-timed his right-footed shot to the left side of goal after the Belgian tapped a perfect cross into his path.
Pulisic entered the game five minutes later, and hardly put a foot wrong during his time on the field. While not directly taking any shots, he did set up three chances for teammates, only misplaced one of his ten passes, while drawing one foul.
Three games into the season, Milan are in fifth place, however will be without head coach Massimiliano Allegri when they visit Udinese on Saturday while he serves a red card suspension.
Pescara 2 – 2 Venezia
Gianluca Busio and Venezia were forced to settle for a second consecutive draw, however this one will be particular bitter after they blew a two-goal lead on their trip to Pescara.
In his 77 minutes of play positioned behind central striker Andrea Adorante, the American had 39 touches, completed all but one of his 24 passes, took three shots, one of which forced a save in the opening seconds, won four out of six duels, drew two fouls and committed two.
Adorante opened the scoring for Venezia near the 20-minute mark, rolling his penalty attempt to the lower left corner after Niccolò Squizzato tripped up Issa Doumbia on a run into the left side of the area.
Daniel File added a second in the 66th minute, charging into t he left side of the area and putting away Antoine Hainaut’s cross from close range.
Busio was pulled in the 77th minute with the team seemingly safely in the lead, however the wheels proceeded to come off over the next quarter-hour.
Two minutes after Busio’s exit, Pescara pulled one back from seemingly out of nowhere, Giacomo Olzer pouncing on a loose ball 22 yards out from goal, and firing it to the lower left corner. The goal was initially waved off for offside, only for VAR to overturn the on-field call.
Then Antonio di Nardo secured the point for the hosts in the first minute of injury time, heading a cross by Tommaso Corazza from deep in the left flank to the right side of goal to set the game on even terms.
The Venetians are back in action on Saturday when they host Jonathan Klinsmann and Cesena.
Highlights of the game can be seen here.
Notes
Benjamin Cremaschi was on Parma’s bench for their 2-0 road loss at Cagliari on Saturday. Parma are winless after three games and in the relegation zone.
Andrija Novakovich was an unused substitute for Reggiana on Saturday afternoon in their scoreless draw at Juve Stabia in Serie B action. The team next faces winless Catanzaro on Saturday.
After being unused by USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino in both games during the international break, Jonathan Klinsmann returned to the field for Cesena in Serie B play, having a relatively quiet game between the sticks in their 2-1 road win over Sampdoria. Their hosts scored with their only shot on goal, a 92nd-minute consolation to avoid being shut out.
