Juventus sunk mid-table Hellas Verona 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium as the January additions inspired Massimiliano Allegri’s side to victory. Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria enjoyed a stellar start to their Bianconeri careers, helping their new side overcome the spirited visitors.
It took Vlahovic only 13 minutes into his debut to show why Juventus shelled out €80m to acquire his services from Fiorentina in January. The Serbian striker slotted home a delightful chip over Lorenzo Montipo to fire the Bianconeri into an early lead.
A foggy night in Turin did not prevent Vlahovic from taking his tally to 18 goals this Serie A campaign as he is again the league’s joint-top scorer alongside Lazio’s Ciro Immobile. Based on his inaugural performance in the white-black shirt, the 22-year-old should be a massive coup for Juventus moving forward.
The same goes for Zakaria, who doubled the home side’s advantage midway through the second half. Alvaro Morata split Verona’s backline open with a top-class hold-off play before setting the ex-Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder one-on-one with Montipo.
Even though he is not known for his scoring abilities, Zakaria bowed himself to the Allianz support with a classy finish. In a manner of a true goalscorer, he hammered the ball past the Verona goalkeeper and into the bottom right corner to kill the game off.
Despite showcasing his potential with a masterclass finish, Vlahovic failed to impress Allegri. The Italian manager admitted that the Juventus new scoring machine has to improve his first touch after having a couple of slip-ups early in the game.
“Vlahovic had a couple of poor initial first touches at the start, which he needs to improve so it’ll be cleaner in his movement. He loves being in the battle, but he’s only 22, he doesn’t have that much experience,” he said in the aftermath, as relayed by TUTOmercatoWEB.
“He needs to improve the way he shakes off defenders, including on his right foot.“