New boys Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala were on target as Juventus beat Lazio 2-0 for the Italian Super Cup in Shanghai.
See how it all unfolded on our LIVEBLOG. Juve set a new record by winning the Supercoppa for the seventh time.
New boys Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala were on target as Juventus beat Lazio 2-0 for the Italian Super Cup in Shanghai.
See how it all unfolded on our LIVEBLOG. Juve set a new record by winning the Supercoppa for the seventh time.
As the Bianconeri did the Double last season, the Aquile were included as beaten Coppa Italia Finalists for this Italian version of the Community Shield. Marco Parolo and Senad Lulic were suspended, while Alvaro Morata, Giorgio Chiellini and Sami Khedira had muscular problems. Andrea Barzagli recovered quicker than expected to start with Kingsley Coman preferred to Dybala. Paul Pogba made his debut in the new Number 10 jersey.
There was controversy over the state of the turf in Shanghai, as it was visibly patchy and bobbly, while conditions were very windy due to the typhoon in Taiwan.
Antonio Candreva caused early difficulties, bursting to the by-line to risk a Barzagli own goal and then just failed to reach Miroslav Klose for the tap-in.
Stephan Lichtsteiner’s sudden screamer from distance sailed over the bar, but overall Juve kept possession at too slow a tempo to make a dent.
Pogba was the only one to occasionally make a smart move, combining with Patrice Evra only for Mario Mandzukic to be anticipated.
After the restart Pogba created two scoring opportunities in 30 seconds. First he sent Mandzukic clear on goal with a through ball only for the Croatian to fire straight at Federico Marchetti’s feet, then the move continued and Pogba’s scorching strike from 25 metres whistled inches past the far top corner.
Gigi Buffon took the sting out of an Eddy Onazi effort from the edge of the box, but Juventus finally broke through with 21 minutes to go.
Stefano Sturaro crossed from the right and Mandzukic leapt above Dusan Basta for a precise header from six yards, his first competitive goal for the Bianconeri. This also means he has scored in Super Cups in Italy, Spain and Germany.
Buffon was right behind a Felipe Anderson shot on the volley, but Juve doubled their lead with the other summer signing. Mandzukic flew down the right and his cross was only cleared as far as Pogba, who intelligently laid it off for unmarked Dybala to smash under the bar from 12 yards.
Ricardo Kishna made his Lazio debut and Buffon fingertipped a Felipe Anderson cross off his head, then Bonucci performed two decisive blocks from point-blank range on Candreva. On the resulting corner, Filip Djordjevic's header was too weak to beat Buffon.
Juventus 2-0 Lazio
Scorers: Mandzukic 69 (J), Dybala 73 (J)
Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Caceres; Lichtsteiner, Sturaro (Pereyra 89), Marchisio, Pogba, Evra; Coman (Dybala 60), Mandzukic (Llorente 79)
Lazio: Marchetti; Basta, De Vrij, Gentiletti, Radu; Onazi, Biglia, Cataldi (Kishna 74); Candreva, Klose (Djordjevic 61), Felipe Anderson (Morrison 86)
Ref: Banti