Juventus secured their second win of the season as they emerged victorious over their hosts Empoli at the Carlo Castellani Stadium with two unanswered goals. The Bianconeri were clearly the better side and could have come away with a larger result.
Max Allegri adopted his 3-5-2 formation that featured some tweaks, especially on the wings. Weston McKennie and Filip Kostic took over from Andrea Cambiaso and Timothy Weah.
Fabio Miretti started in midfield alongside Manuel Locatelli and Adrien Rabiot. Federico Gatti finally earned his starting berth at the back, replacing the disappointing Alex Sandro. Dusan Vlahovic and Federico once again spearheaded the lineup.
The Bianconeri applied high pressure in the opening minutes but weren’t able to create much. Empoli initially seemed to be the more comfortable team on the ball.
Danilo saw an early goal rightfully disallowed for shoving Etrit Berisha inside his six-yard box. Nevertheless, the Juventus captain made up for it by breaking the deadlock.
Following a post-corner kick scramble, the Brazilian sent a low drive past the crowd and into the bottom corner.
The Old Lady kept pushing for a second and almost had one when Gatti was tripped by Youssef Maleh inside the box. However, Vlahovic saw his mild effort denied by Berisha.
The first half ended with Danilo’s strike separating the two sides.
The second period started with more of the same, as the Bianconeri drove forward in search of a second goal.
Chiesa wasted two one-on-one chances before finally getting it right on the third opportunity which came late in the match.
Arkadiusz Milik provided an exquisite through ball and the Italian just managed to beat Erisha to the ball and skip past the Albanian goalkeeper. The 25-year-old was barely able to maintain his footing before sliding the ball into the empty net.
This strike took the winds out of Empoli’s sail. Afterwards, Juventus came extremely close to adding a third but substitutes Milik and Moise Kean were both denied by the post.
In the end, Allegri’s men succeeded in adding three points to the tally, raising their total to seven from the first three rounds of the season.
Final Score: Empoli 0-2
Goals: Danilo 24′ (J), Chiesa 82 (J)
Juventus (3-5-2): Perin; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; McKennie (Weah), Miretti (Pogba), Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic (Cambiaso); Chiesa (Kean), Vlahovic (Milik)
