Chievo Verona 2-3 Juventus: 5 Talking points

The Serie A kicked off on Saturday and champions Juventus faced Chievo Verona. Much of the talk surrounding the game before kickoff was about Juve's new signing Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese moved to Turin from Real Madrid in the summer making all the headlines in the process.

Juve's manager Massimiliano Allegri also gave starts to fellow new signings Joao Cancelo and Leonardo Bonucci. An intriguing match ensued and the Old Lady prevailed 3-2, but the win did not come easily.

Sami Khedira opened the scoring early on but Chievo struck back, scoring twice to take the lead inside the hour. Juventus equalised by an own goal from Mattia Bani, but a win looked to be beyond them.

However, Federico Bernardeschi netted the winner in stoppage time to take home all three points. Chievo will definitely feel hard done by and it was a stunning start to the Serie A season.

On that note, here are 5 talking points from the game.

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#1 Ronaldo finds his feet slowly

Ronaldo looked lively but failed to score

Naturally, much of the attention was on Ronaldo's debut, and it was a decent performance from the forward.

His first sighter came after eighteen minutes, as he dragged his effort from Cuadrado's layoff. A few minutes later he attempted a left-footed volley from a difficult angle which blazed over the crossbar.

Ronaldo grew into the game after the interval, especially after Mario Mandzukic came on which shifted the Portuguese to the left. He had a dipping shot saved and then headed straight at the goalkeeper.

Another brilliant curling effort was matched by the keeper and a trademark free-kick met the same result. Chievo's stalwart goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino put in a great performance, and he had to be carried off after colliding with Ronaldo.

Mandzukic appeared to have scored the winner but the goal was chalked off as Ronaldo had handled the ball. Thankfully, Bernardeschi had a trick up his sleeve.

Despite not scoring, Ronaldo looked sharp in his link-up play and dribbling. It will take time to gel with the likes of Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa but the signs were promising. Surely one can't expect him to hit his mercurial form straightaway, right?

#2 Cuadrado fails to impress

Cuadrado's place might be at risk

Juventus have a wealth of wide attacking options at their disposal, with Juan Cuadrado receiving the nod this time. The Colombian did little to make his case, as his performance was moderate at best.

He failed to create any decisive threat to the Chievo backline and was often seen playing sideways and backward passes. Arguably Joao Cancelo, the full-back on his side provided a better attacking contribution.

Cuadrado has the likes of Bernardeschi and Mandzukic competing with him for places and both of them impressed from the bench. In particular, Cuadrado had the ball on the counter-attack when Juve had a 4 versus 2 situation. He blazed over when better passing options were available to draw ire from his teammates.

Cuadrado did not even complete an hour Allegri may give another chance next week against Lazio but there is no guarantee of the same.

#3 Defensive stability needs to be rediscovered

Cancelo

was great going forward but looked shaky at the back

Defensive instability and Juventus? Sound like they are two corners of the universe, right?

Juventus have maintained the reputation of being a really solid defensive unit for years now. It arguably began under Antonio Conte and the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli have carried it forward.

But against Chievo, Juve looked far from their best and appeared shaky at the back. The marking for the first goal was scandalous and Cancelo conceded a cheap penalty which gave Chievo the lead.

Both Cancelo and Bonucci (kind of) are new to the setup so integrating them will be key. The Old Lady's huge success in the Serie A has been based on a tight defence and Allegri will surely prioritise the same.

#4 Juventus (almost) fail to make dominance pay

Chievo's heat map compared to Juve's

Everyone expected Juventus to dominate the match, and the same thing transpired. They had 73% possession in the game, which is a ridiculously high number.

Juve attempted 26 shots to Chievo's 6, and 10 of them were on target to Chievo's 2. Across all metrics, Juventus clearly had control of the match but they were unable to replicate the same in the goals scored column.

After the early goal, the intensity in their game petered out which only increased when Chievo scored their two goals. At times Allegri's side was too passive in their buildup and the urgency seemed to be lacking.

The threat Chievo possessed on the counter was also clearly seen which is something which Allegri will need to rectify. Perhaps Juve will get up to speed as the season progresses, and they will need to, as stoppage-time winners are not a commodity to depend upon.

#5 Ronaldo or Mandzukic for the striker?

Mandzukic's entrance brought out the best from Ronaldo

Mandzukic came on after the hour mark and Ronaldo subsequently moved on the left wing. He did not play as an orthodox winger but more like a narrow inside forward. The new position was much more productive for Ronaldo and Juve in general as he was able to cut in onto his right foot. This raised the question; Ronaldo or Mandzukic?

When he played alone up front, Ronaldo was unable to get involved in the buildup which blunted Juve's attack. At Real Madrid also Karim Benzema was the striker which enabled Ronaldo to cause mayhem behind him.

Allegri could use a similar approach to bring the best out of his marquee signing. Starting Mandzukic will perhaps sideline Cuadrado, but that may be a small price to pay. The width on the left side would not be a problem courtesy of the marauding Alex Sandro. One thing is for sure, the conundrum must surely be nestling in Allegri's mind.