Dusan Vlahovic’s 73rd-minute header from Filip Kostic’s corner gave Juventus a 1-0 win over Genoa
First half was scrappy, with few clear chances and key saves from Genoa’s Nicola Leali
Igor Tudor’s second-half substitutions, including Dusan Vlahovic, proved decisive
Juventus made it two wins from two games at the start of the Serie A season as Dusan Vlahovic's header guided them to a 1-0 win at Genoa.
Vlahovic has been strongly linked with a move away from the Bianconeri in recent months, with Newcastle United and Atletico Madrid touted as possible landing spots for the Serbian, who has been out of favour in Turin.
But he came off the bench to provide the decisive moment at the Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris on Sunday, as Igor Tudor's side built on last week's 2-0 win over Parma.
Chances came at a premium in an attritional first half, with Juventus not registering a shot on target until Federico Gatti tested Nicola Leali in the 41st minute.
Leali had to block a Kenan Yildiz effort with his feet two minutes later and was fortunate to see Jonathan David blaze over on the rebound, as Genoa reached half-time level.
Only a fine block from Bremer denied Mikael Ellertsson a clear-cut chance to put Genoa ahead early in the second half, with Juventus toiling until Tudor made a triple substitution in the 62nd minute.
Vlahovicm who netted in Juve's win over Parma last week, was one of those introduced, and he linked up with his international team-mate Filip Kostic for the winner, diverting a corner past Leali with a bullet header.
Genoa went agonisingly close to an equaliser seven minutes into stoppage time, but Patrizio Masini's header bounced off the top of the crossbar to keep them on one point, with Juventus joining Napoli and Roma on maximum points.
Data Debrief: Vlahovic makes another strong start
Juventus have now started back-to-back Serie A campaigns with two clean sheets in their first two matches, the first time they have achieved that feat since 2004-05 and 2005-06. They finished top of the table in each of those seasons, only to be stripped of those titles due to the Calciopoli scandal.
Since Tudor took the reins following the departure of Thiago Motta, Juve have only lost one of their 11 Serie A matches (against Parma in April), winning seven and drawing three.
Vlahovic, meanwhile, has 11 goals in 14 Serie A matches in the month of August.
Among all players to play at least 10 games in August in Serie A's three-points-for-a-win era, Vlahovic has the best goals-per-game ratio, with 0.79.
