Ronaldo makes winning home debut as Juventus beat Lazio
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Pjanic and Mandzukic on target
TURIN, Italy, Aug 25, (AFP): Cristiano Ronaldo made a winning home debut for Italian champions Juventus with Miralem Pjanic and Mario Mandzukic scoring in a 2-0 win over Lazio on Saturday.
Ronaldo, 33, played a role in Mandzukic’s second goal of the night on 75 minutes after Pjanic put the hosts in front at the Allianz Stadium.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner joined the Serie A champions from Real Madrid on July 10 in a 100-million-euro deal but has yet to score his first competitive goal.
Juve have now won their opening two games after last weekend’s 3-2 success against Chievo in Verona.
Lazio – fifth last season in Serie A – have had their worst start to the season in over a decade following last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at home against Napoli.
In the first home game for the seven-time defending champions, Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa started on the bench, with coach Massimiliano Allegri opting for Federico Bernardeschi and Mandzukic to spearhead the frontline with Ronaldo.
Simone Inzaghi’s Lazio had ended Juventus’ two-year unbeaten home Serie A run last year, but apart from a Luis Alberto shot after an hour they failed to threaten.
Germany international Sami Khedira rattled the woodwork after 19 minutes for the home side, with Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha diving to keep out a Bernardeschi angled drive.
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