While the eyes of the world were focused upon one man, Chievo welcomed Juventus to the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi knowing they had a chance to cause a stunning upset. Spoiling games is something the Veronese club have become specialists in, but inside the opening three minutes they found themselves behind.
Sami Khedira bagged the first goal and it looked like plenty more would follow as Cristiano Ronaldo and his new team-mates put on a show worthy of the attention this game had been given prior to kickoff. Douglas Costa, Juan Cuadrado and Miralem Pjanic – supported by full-backs Joao Cancelo and Alex Sandro – poured forward, a potential rout in the offing as they repeatedly sliced through the Chievo ranks at will.
With 84% possession in the opening 20 minutes, the visitors were stunned when an Emanuele Giaccherini cross was floated into the box for Mariusz Stepinski to head into the far top corner. Leonardo Bonucci was caught ball watching, a lapse that did little to endear him to the Juve supporters who were firmly against the decision to bring him back from AC Milan.
The second half began much like the first, but Stefano Sorrentino stood firm between the posts for Chievo. The veteran goalkeeper repeatedly denied the Bianconeri a second goal, making a string of excellent saves to frustrate Ronaldo, Cuadrado and Alex Sandro before Cancelo fouled Giaccherini to give away a penalty.
The diminutive winger – who like Sorrentino is a former Juve player – stepped up to give Chievo the lead, refusing to celebrate out of respect for his old side but clearly happy to have made such a decisive contribution. Ronaldo and Federico Bernardeschi then saw chances repelled by the in-form goalkeeper, only to see defender Mattia Bani turn the ball into his own net after a well-taken corner from Pjanic.
Sorrentino was left unconscious after a collision with Ronaldo as Mario Mandzukic’s header was ruled out after a VAR review. After a lengthy delay, Juve pushed forward again, Sandro making a superb run down the left before sending in a low cross that Bernardeschi poked over the line, Juve grabbing victory from the jaws of defeat on the first day of the campaign.
For the fans and media who had descended on Verona to see Ronaldo’s first outing there were glimpses of his ability, a performance filled with turns, tricks and some wonderful efforts on goal. There was a late free kick that Sorrentino made a superb diving save to keep out, four take-on attempts that left defenders dazed and confused and a total of eight shots, four of which found the target.
Yet there was very little end product, which in a way was somewhat fitting. While the entire build up to the opening game of the season was focussed on his arrival, Juventus have managed to dominate their domestic competition long before the Portuguese star landed. The Bianconeri will know much tougher tests lay ahead, and that it is those high-profile Champions League encounters – ones where they have repeatedly struggled to succeed – that they had smashed their own wage structure in order to accommodate CR7.
He wasn’t signed for €105 million and he isn’t paid €30 million per season to help win against Chievo, that money was spent to deliver European success, so it was somewhat apt that other players scored the goals here. In time of course Ronaldo will deliver, but for now there should be a positive view that the team haven’t suddenly become overly dependent on him to help them win, as Bernardeschi explained shortly after the final whistle.
“We knew it wasn’t easy to play here, especially with this heat, but the important thing is to have heart,” he told Sky Italia.
“Champions are great, but football proved once again that nothing matters on paper, you have to prove it all on the pitch during the 90 minutes. Obviously, we need to do better, but it’s tough at the start of the season to keep the tempo up for the full match. We got the points and that’s the most important thing right now. I have to compliment Chievo, because they put in a great performance.”
They did, but Juventus – even without Ronaldo stealing the show – had too much for them. Chievo won’t be the last Serie A side to find that out.
