Square, practical, one goal ahead. At the Juventus the goal from a penalty kick is enough Dusan Vlahovic to end the first half ahead against the Cagliari: 1-0 at half-time. First half in line with the Bianconeri’s championship, in total control of the match: the only flaw remains not having already closed the issue, but so far the Sardinians – defense and counterattack, as expected – have not managed to build much. Thiago Motta’s team, for the record, is 45 minutes away from equaling Cagliari’s own record: up until now, the 1966/67 season was running, the only team in the history of Italian football to finish the first seven days of the championship without conceding a goal.
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Juventus ahead from a penalty in the 15th minute. Very wide ball turnover and wide flanks: this is the recipe chosen by Juventus, at the start, to open up the visiting team’s shirts. It is on dead balls, however, that the Old Lady proves to be dangerous and creates the episode that breaks the tie: Luperto touches the ball with his fingers in an aerial tackle with Gatti. Marinelli, supported by VAR, points to the spot: Vlahovic cold, who beats Scuffet and scores the 1-0.
Koop tries to get unstuck. The goal gives further verve to Juve, who closes the spaces to the opposing counterattacks and tries to double the lead. Koopmeiners among the most active: the Dutchman first shoots just over and then, in the 25th minute, calls on Scuffet to make a highly reactive intervention following Vlahovic’s suggestion. In the 29th minute, another risk of hands for Cagliari: Obert touches the ball, but the movement is deemed appropriate by the refereeing team. The emotions stop here: the autopilot is set, the Old Lady takes home the first half without any major worries, thanks to some uncertainty from the guests in the few restart opportunities they can exploit.