Juventus had no trouble disposing of Sampdoria at home in their first game of the 2020-2021 Serie A season.
There were so many question marks surrounding Juventus before their first 2020-2021 Serie A match against Sampdoria. How would Juve look with Andrea Pirlo as the manager? Who would step up for injured stars like Paulo Dybala and Matthijs de Ligt? And how would the new faces in the first team fare out?
It’s safe to say that by winning 3-0 and dominating Sampdoria, Juventus answered their critics. Here are three things that surprised us from the incredible showing.
1. Aaron Ramsey shows his value to Juventus
Aaron Ramsey’s first season in Turin couldn’t have gone any worse. He had a couple of bright moments, but he was injured for parts of the season and woefully ineffective by the end of it. Maurizio Sarri seemingly had no clue what to do with Ramsey, so he ended up looking a lot worse than he actually is.
In Andrea Pirlo’s first game, Ramsey was a revelation. He looked like one of the best players on the pitch alongside standout attackers Cristiano Ronaldo and Dejan Kulusevski, who were two of Serie A’s best players in 2019-2020.
Ramsey, per WhoScored.com, had six key passes, an assist, two dribbles completed, two fouls drawn, and six tackles. To say he was a standout would be an understatement. He looked world-class on this day.
2. An immediate shift in mentality for Juventus
We knew Juventus would be different tactically under Andrea Pirlo, but we also knew that the new manager’s biggest task would be to get the most out of his players and change the mentality and culture. The club was complacent and stagnant under the unimaginative, happy-to-be-there Maurizio Sarri, who was never a good fit for the ambitious Old Lady.
Juve looked like an energetic, hungry machine on Matchday 1 of the Serie A season. They were uncompromising in the way they attacked, always passing forward and running. There was no hoarding possession for the sake of hoarding possession. Juve were all on the same page, looked like they were loving their football, and taking up dangerous positions.
Now, it’s time to be excited, Juventini. It’s just one game, but it’s incredible how quickly Pirlo is changing things.
3. Young players make all the difference for Juventus
Dejan Kulusevski scored 10 goals with eight assists for Parma in 2019-2020, and he picked up where he left off, scoring an early opener for the Bianconeri with a neat, curled left-footed finish into the low far corner. It was a goal Paulo Dybala would have been proud to score himself.
The forward started up top with Cristiano Ronaldo and honestly stole the show from his more decorated attacker. Kulusevski had three key passes and three dribbles completed. If he keeps this up, Juve could have an attacking trio that rivals Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Manchester City.
Another young player looked incredible in his debut for Juventus, and that was Schalke loanee Weston McKennie, who will almost certainly earn a permanent deal.
McKennie is the missing piece in Juve’s midfield, and Pirlo made the brilliant decision to start him against Sampdoria. The American midfielder was incredible in all phases of the game, showing why the Royal Blues should have done more with him. McKennie had four tackles and three interceptions to show his potentially world-class defensive contributions. He threw in two shots on target and fully deserved to score. And finally, he completed nearly 90 percent of his passes.
Under Pirlo and with new additions like McKennie and Arthur, Juventus’ defense will go from one of the worst among Europe’s top clubs to one of the best.