Juventus begin Tudor era with narrow win over Genoa | OneFootball

Juventus are off to a winning start under new boss Igor Tudor after a hard-fought 1-0 win against Genoa in Turin.

Scorers: Yıldız 25'

After parting ways with Thiago Motta, Juve were out for a result more so than a performance to begin life anew on the right foot under the former club striker and Croatian international.

Tudor's new outfit were on the front foot in the opening 20 minutes of action in front of home support at Allianz Stadium who were keen to back a new-look side, which featured Nico González at right wing-back and Randal Kolo Muani having to settle with a place on the bench.

With Lillian Thuram in attendance with his son Khéphren featuring in the centre of the park, Genoa also came to play on the day and looked potent enough to hit Juve's weak points at the back in a bid to bank a first away win against the club since 1991.

But a moment of sheer brilliance by Turkish youngster Kenan Yıldız would set Juve away on the evening when he opened the scoring in the 25th minute, with the 19-year-old looking to enjoy a new lease on life after Motta's departure.

The club academy graduate danced his way through the Genoa back line before driving at the near post to rifle past Nicola Leali for his first goal since 11 January during the Derby della Mole.

Genoa continued to look capable of coming away with a share of the points in what divulged into an even affair, wrestling the lion's share of the ball away from Juve as the second half reached the 75-minute mark.

A late surge by Juve nearly made it 2-0 just minutes before added time, but a strong hand by Leali denied Manuel Locatelli's well-struck effort from outside the box from doubling The Old Lady's advantage.

It was hardly a perfect performance on balance, but for a club that is in the midst of far more questions than answers, three points on Tudor's managerial debut appeared to have been more than enough to leave fans satisfied come the full-time whistle.

With that Juventus temporarily extends the gap between them and sixth-sitting Laio to four points while once again climbing to within a single point behind Bologna.

Genoa, who were undefeated in their last three Serie A fixtures remain comfortably in 12th, five points ahead of Como.

📸 MARCO BERTORELLO - AFP or licensors