Udinese 2-2 Juventus: 5 Talking points as wasteful Bianconeri squander 2-goal lead | Serie A 2021-22
Juventus were held to a 2-2 draw in their 2021-22 Serie A opener at the Stadio Friuli by Udinese on Sunday.
Paulo Dybala gave the visitors a great start, as he scored just 123 seconds after kick-off. Juan Cuadrado then doubled the lead to put Juventus in the driver's seat. From there, it seemed the visitors might be able to cruise through despite Cristiano Ronaldo starting from the bench.
Wojciech Szczęsny, though, had a disappointing outing, as his errors led to both Udinese's goals. He even picked up a yellow card in the 51st minute, and his foul on Tolgay Arslan led to a penalty.
Roberto Pereyra calmly converted from the spot to halve Udinese's deficit. Luca Gotti's two second-half substitutes Gerard Deulofeu and Stefano Okaka then combined in the 83rd minute to force a share of the spoils for the hosts.
Ronaldo, who was introduced in the 60th minute in place of Alvaro Morata, looked sharp. He thought he scored the winning goal in injury time with a trademark header, but VAR ruled that out for offside.
On that note, here's a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Juventus score twice in the first half as Cristiano Ronaldo starts from the bench
Cristiano Ronaldo was on the bench for the opening Serie A game of the campaign. But Juventus did not seem to miss him, as they got off to a great start with a goal in the third minute by Paulo Dybala. The Argentine then set up the second goal when his long pass was controlled well by Juan Cuadrado for Juventus' second of the night.
There have been rumours surrounding Ronaldo's future at the club, with reports suggesting the Portuguese talisman requested not to be named in the starting XI against Udinese.
He was introduced at the hour mark in place of Morata, and did not let the rumours affect his game. Both the player and the coach have openly denied rumours surrounding Ronaldo's exit as the player almost grabbed a late winner.
#4 Paulo Dybala puts his disappointing 2020-21 campaign behind with a great performance in the season opener
Paulo Dybala gave Juventus an early lead in the game, finding the back of the net in the third minute before providing the assist for Cuadrado's goal in the 23rd. The Argentine forward had struggled for form last season, with injuries preventing him from finding his feet under Andrea Pirlo.
But he scored in the pre-season friendly against Atalanta and looks back to his best this campaign. Dybala linked well with Cuadrado on the right flank throughout the game. His cross in the 63rd-minute was met by Ronaldo with a good header, but the effort sailed narrowly off-target.
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