First-half blitz hands Juventus first win of the season

Sep 16, 2021 06:00 am

Forwards Paolo Dybala and Alvaro Morata scored just before half-time as Juventus made the most of Malmo's collapse to win 3-0 in their Champions League Group H clash yesterday morning (Singapore time) to put their rocky start to the season behind them.

Two-time European champions Juventus have failed to win any of their three Serie A games so far this season, but a blistering opening 45 minutes was enough to see off the Swedish champions, who were back in the group stages for the first time since 2015/16.

Malmo started brightly and had a chance to open the scoring when Soren Rieks fired just over the bar in the 17th minute but instead Juve fullback Alex Sandro broke the deadlock five minutes later, stooping to head home from close range.

On 45 minutes, Dybala made it two from the spot before Morata capitalised on a defensive mix-up to make it 3-0 a minute later at the Eleda Stadion.

Said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri: "We cannot allow three negative results to make us doubt this team."

Meanwhile, Malmo captain Anders Christiansen told Swedish broadcaster C More: "We'll learn from our mistakes. The mistakes for the goals were a little too easy." - REUTERS