Udinese 2-2 Juventus: 3 key takeaways from the game

Considered one of the best stadiums in Itay, Stadio Friuli hosted the game between Udinese and Juventus on Sunday evening. It could’ve been a fine start away from home for the Old Lady, but they were compelled to drop two points, succumbing to a 2-2 draw in their opening game of the 2021/22 Serie A campaign.

The biggest shock for the Juventus fans came right before the start of the game — just after the line-up was announced — as fans saw the name of Cristiano Ronaldo missing from the visitors’ starting line-up. Several reports right away went on to claim that Cristiano Ronaldo had requested Massimiliano Allegri not to put him in the line-up for the Udinese game as he reportedly keeps on assessing his chances to join another team this summer.

Although Juventus vice president Pavel Nedved later came in front of the camera to assure that the Portuguese talisman would stay in Turin and his exclusion from the starting eleven was down to his fitness, there remains uncertainty over his future at the Piedmontese side.

The other key asset missing from Juve’s line-up was Federico Chiesa. The recent European Champion with Italy was reported to be failing to cut the line-up for “technical reasons”. In fact, both Ronaldo and Chiesa was brought in the second half of the game and involved in a goal, which could’ve given Juventus an opening-day win but was subsequently called offside by the VAR. Juventus lined up in a 4-4-2 formation.

On the other hand, Udinese countered them with a 3-5-1-1 (where Roberto Pereyra was playing slightly behind their striker, Ignacio Pussetto).

With Udinese doing their best in the first game of the Serie A 2021/22 campaign and their plan to hold Juve back having been fulfilled, we take a look at the three key takeaways from Juve’s first setback in the opening game of the domestic season.

[Please note that this is a slideshow, which means you will have to press on the “next” button visible down the first page or at the top-right of the page to access the next slide.]

1. Paulo Dybala — a Serie A MVP in the making?

Missing almost half of the season through a knee injury last term, Dybala was always going to come out of his shell this season. Trying to show his quality in front of the returning away crowd worked as an impetus this time as he opened scoring for Juventus in the third minute of the game.

It was a delightful dash into the box from the diminutive Argentine that caught the Udinese defence off-guard. Then came a cunning finish of a quality that one always expects to see from the 27-year-old.

Dybala’s magical instinct came to the action once again as his through ball found a galloping Juan Cuadrado on the right flank. The Colombian didn’t hesitate to unleash the venom, handing a 2-0 lead to the visiting side within the opening 23 minutes of the game. The assist to Cuadrado once again demonstrated the necessity of La Joya not only as a goalscorer but also as a goal provider in this Juventus side.

With Allegri guiding from the back, Dybala has already set the tone en route to becoming the best of the rest in the league this season. Although the result didn’t go Juve’s way, Dybala certainly found his mojo out there. An imperfect start to Juve’s season marked a perfect start for Paul Dybala.