Juventus vs Como showcased a strong start to Thiago Motta’s tenure at Juventus. The Bianconeri secured a 3-0 victory with goals from surprise starter Samuel Mbangula, Tim Weah, and Andrea Cambiaso. However, Cesc Fabregas faced more injury setbacks, adding to his already challenging season.
Juventus experienced a rocky pre-season. They missed key players such as Federico Chiesa and Filip Kostic. Additionally, injuries sidelined Arkadiusz Milik and Fabio Miretti, and Danilo wasn’t fully fit. Despite these challenges, Thiago Motta made a bold decision. He chose to start 20-year-old Next Gen talent Mbangula instead of Douglas Luiz. Meanwhile, Sampdoria eliminated Cesc Fabregas’ squad from the Coppa Italia. They also suffered losses with Raphael Varane out due to injury and Alessio Iovine suspended.
In the opening moments, Juventus vs Como saw Dusan Vlahovic head an Andrea Cambiaso cross wide of the near post. Additionally, Como lost Daniele Baselli to an adductor injury early in the game.
The surprise starter, Mbangula, broke the deadlock. He cut inside from the left and curled a right-footed shot into the far bottom corner, thrilling the Juventus crowd.
Kenan Yildiz tested Pepe Reina from a distance. Vlahovic’s long-range free kick narrowly missed the post. Shortly after, Como struggled to clear the ball from the back. Vlahovic capitalized on a deflected shot that struck the inside of the far post.
The second goal came just before halftime. Kenan Yildiz raced down the left flank and pulled back a pass from the by-line. Vlahovic’s dummy allowed Tim Weah to score with a left-footed shot off the underside of the crossbar from 13 yards.
Weah, despite battling a muscle issue, scored his first Serie A goal before Juventus substituted him with youth product Nicoló Savona. Savona then moved Cambiaso into a more advanced role.
Within 30 seconds of the second half, Juve had the ball in the net again. Vlahovic scored with a header from a Juan Cabal cross. However, VAR ruled out the goal due to Cambiaso’s offside position in the build-up.
Vlahovic encountered more bad luck. Reina saved a point-blank attempt, and Vlahovic’s follow-up header hit the post. Cambiaso missed a chance from a misplaced Alberto Moreno back-pass. Como also suffered another setback when Oliver Abdilgaard got injured due to a bookable foul by Manuel Locatelli, just six minutes into his Serie A debut.
Juventus appealed for a penalty after Barba’s handball. However, the defender accidentally kicked the ball onto his own hand, so the referee did not award a penalty.
Gabriel Strefezza came close with a shot that went just wide. Cambiaso sealed the victory in stoppage time with a left-footed finish from the edge of the box. He bent the ball into the far bottom corner.
Douglas Luiz nearly added a fourth goal. Reina cleared his deflected shot off the line at full stretch.
