The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Judith Benjamin
Samuel Iling Junior opened the deadlock for Juventus, scoring his first Sere A goal during what was a fairytale full debut for the club, to help his side beat Atalanta 2-0 on Sunday.
Atalanta battled hard to come back in the second half, and while they did look like they could nick a late equaliser, they failed to convert their chances, with Dusan Vlahovic scoring in the seventh minute of injury time to seal the win for the Old Lady.
After a cagey first half, it took nearly an hour of play for the first goal to come. But it was a special moment for the young English prospect, who netted his first Serie A goal.
Battling hard to win the ball in the middle of the park, the 19-year-old fed the ball through to the Adrien Rabiot on the left wing, who played a fast cross into the box that bounced off several players before falling to the young English star, who tapped in to give the away side the lead.
Samuel Iling Junior (right) scored on his full debut to help Juventus beat Atalanta 2-0
The young English prospect completed a move with Adrien Rabiot to tap in from close range
It is his first Serie A goal for the club, with the 19-year-old having moved to Turin in 2020
The former Chelsea academy player moved to Juventus in 2020 and has worked his way through the ranks at the club’s youth system to break into the first team this season, making eight appearances in the league for the Serie A giants so far this campaign.
While he made no mistake in converting his chance, both sides failed to really test Wojciech Szczesny nor Marco Sportiello in the first 45 minutes.
Angel Di Maria had a close chance early on, but curled his shot wide of the upright. Marco Sportiello got on the end of a Juan Cuadrado cross soon after, but couldn’t keep his glancing header on target.
Giorgio Scalvini came close soon after, but also failed to keep his header on target, with the ball glancing just off the post.
Marten de Roon hammered a thunderous shot into the box from around 25-yards, penalty shouts went up for a hand ball but the referee did not buy it.
In the second half, substitute Jeremie Boga had his afternoon cut short early, after he was helped from the field after suffering a nasty looking ankle injury.
Both Juventus and Atalanta squandered several chances throughout the match, with Luis Muriel coming close late on and could have equalised for the home side
Angel Di Maria had the first clear-cut chance of the match but also failed to score for his side
