Juve’s top scorer made it 14 goals this term after finding the back of the net thanks to his quick-thinking, powerful presence and silky skills.
Motta, who in midweek suffered the ignominy of becoming the only Juventus manager to fail in the Champions League knockout stages after winning the first leg, shuffled his pack with Vlahovic restored to the starting line-up.
The Serbia striker, whose price tag has dropped by a staggering €20 million over the past six weeks as he has been constantly benched, spearheaded the attack in place of Kolo Muani.
It remains unclear whether Motta was leaned on by the club board to showcase Vlahovic, as a clutch of Premier League clubs have been heavily linked with a potential summer swoop for the 25-year-old.
French international Muani may have been rested ahead of the midweek Coppa Italia quarter-final against Empoli, or perhaps Motta was not impressed by his poor performance during the PSV Eindhoven 3-1 defeat.
Juventus looked razor sharp from the first whistle inside the jam-packed Unipol Domus Stadium, with many Sardinia residents supporting the Bianconeri.
Vlahovic was at his best when he powered past defender Yerry Mina just after the halfway line. He confidently kept control of the ball, brilliantly rounded the approaching ‘keeper Elia Caprile before sliding the ball across the box and into the bottom right corner.
The goal vindicated his return to the starting line-up, with Vlahovic scoring his eighth goal in 11 games against Cagliari.
Ten minutes later Kenan Yildiz came perilously close to doubling the advantage. The Turkish teenager outpaced the flat-footed three-player backline. He cleverly nodded the ball down to his feet, but Caprile was swiftly off his line to smother Yildiz’s close-range effort.
Yildiz, who has just been promoted as the next superstar by super agent Jorge Mendes, should have done better on the half-hour mark. Set up by Vlahovic, the 19-year-old’s shot was easily scooped into the arms of Caprile.
Despite carving through the hosts like a hot knife through butter, the Bianconer’s smooth moves failed to generate another goal.
Cagliari’s only first-half shot on target, 10 minutes before the half-time whistle, was Nadir Zortea’s left-footed drive that was directed straight at Michele Di Gregorio for a simple save.
After the turnaround it was Cagliari who totally dictated until the hour-mark, when Motta brought on the combined pace of Douglas Luiz, back from muscle fatigue, and Muani for Teun Koopmeiners and Francisco Conceicao respectively.
This was the first time that Muani had been utilised as a substitute. He seems to be an essential player for Motta, having bagged five goals and set up last week’s Derby D’Italia winner against Inter Milan from his first five games.
Andrea Cambiaso was forced off because of injury, replaced by Jonas Rouhi on 73 minutes, and Motta made it a double swap with Khephen Thuram on for Manuel Locatelli.
These changes saw the formation tweaked by the visitors, who had been disjointed and second best throughout after the interval.
Yet Vlahovic almost grabbed a second on 78 minutes, darting from the half-line to leave two defenders in chase. He hesitated when Caprile moved towards the ball in the box and was shuffled to the floor by Sebastiano Luperto.
His cries for penalty fell on deaf ears, with referee Andrea Colombo having none of it.
Juventus produced an impressive vintage display in the first 45 minutes, but they were outclassed for the second half. Had Federico Gatti not been so commanding in defence, then Motto may have tasted their 14th Serie A draw this season.
In the end Motta, who had stated in the pre-match press conference that there was a chance that Vlahovic would start, was beaming ear to ear. The inclusion of Vlahovic was deemed to be a gamble that paid dividends with the maximum points from a hard-fought victory.