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Juventus were held to a 2-2 draw in their 2021-22 Serie A opener at the Stadio Friuli by Udinese on Sunday.
Paulo Dybala gave the visitors a great start, as he scored just 123 seconds after kick-off. Juan Cuadrado then doubled the lead to put Juventus in the driver's seat. From there, it seemed the visitors might be able to cruise through despite Cristiano Ronaldo starting from the bench.
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Wojciech Szczęsny, though, had a disappointing outing, as his errors led to both Udinese's goals. He even picked up a yellow card in the 51st minute, and his foul on Tolgay Arslan led to a penalty.
Roberto Pereyra calmly converted from the spot to halve Udinese's deficit. Luca Gotti's two second-half substitutes Gerard Deulofeu and Stefano Okaka then combined in the 83rd minute to force a share of the spoils for the hosts.
Ronaldo, who was introduced in the 60th minute in place of Alvaro Morata, looked sharp. He thought he scored the winning goal in injury time with a trademark header, but VAR ruled that out for offside.
On that note, here's a look at the five talking points from the game.
#5 Juventus score twice in the first half as Cristiano Ronaldo starts from the bench
Cristiano Ronaldo was on the bench for the opening Serie A game of the campaign. But Juventus did not seem to miss him, as they got off to a great start with a goal in the third minute by Paulo Dybala. The Argentine then set up the second goal when his long pass was controlled well by Juan Cuadrado for Juventus' second of the night.
There have been rumours surrounding Ronaldo's future at the club, with reports suggesting the Portuguese talisman requested not to be named in the starting XI against Udinese.
He was introduced at the hour mark in place of Morata, and did not let the rumours affect his game. Both the player and the coach have openly denied rumours surrounding Ronaldo's exit as the player almost grabbed a late winner.
#4 Paulo Dybala puts his disappointing 2020-21 campaign behind with a great performance in the season opener
Paulo Dybala gave Juventus an early lead in the game, finding the back of the net in the third minute before providing the assist for Cuadrado's goal in the 23rd. The Argentine forward had struggled for form last season, with injuries preventing him from finding his feet under Andrea Pirlo.
But he scored in the pre-season friendly against Atalanta and looks back to his best this campaign. Dybala linked well with Cuadrado on the right flank throughout the game. His cross in the 63rd-minute was met by Ronaldo with a good header, but the effort sailed narrowly off-target.
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#3 Wojciech Szczęsny errors help Udinese force a share of the spoils
Juventus had a two-goal lead heading into the second half but conceded twice to split points on the night. The hosts' first goal came from the penalty spot in the 51st minute when Roberto Pereyra sent Wojciech Szczęsny the wrong way to halve the deficit.
The penalty was awarded after the Polish goalkeeper's poor handling of a long shot. Then in an attempt to get the ball under control, Szczesny brought down Tolgay Arslan in the box, resulting in the penalty. The hosts bagged their equaliser in the 83rd minute, for which the goalkeeper was again to blame.
Without Szczęsny's errors, Juventus could've made a winning start to their 2021-22 Serie A campaign.
#2 Juventus did not have the rub of the green going their way
Juventus were unlucky not to have scored at least a few more goals on the night. Alvaro Morata and Rodrigo Bentancur hit the frame of the goal in the second half, and Ronaldo was denied a late winner in injury time by VAR.
Though Juventus conceded twice in the second half, and Udinese deserved credit for capitalising on Szczęsny's errors, it just wasn't Juventus' day.
Ronaldo's goal was ruled out by the thinnest of margins, with the visitors' late winner getting ruled out as the forward's elbow was offside.
#1 Changes to Juventus' starting XI for the next game seem imminent
Massimiliano Allegri won't be a happy man after this game, as his team squandered a two-goal lead. They also failed to dominate the game despite scoring twice in the first 23 minutes of the game.
Nevertheless, there were a few positives to take home for the Italian manager from the game. Dyabala showed form, and Ronaldo's focus was on the game despite being heavily linked with a move away from the club.
Players like Aaron Ramsey and Federico Bernardeschi failed to do justice to their inclusion in the starting XI, though, and might lose their place for the home game against Empoli. The biggest disappointment on the night was Szczęsny, who faces the threat of dropping to the bench.
For a desirable outcome in the next game, there could be a few changes to the starting XI, with Manuel Locatelli, Federico Chiesa and Ronaldo likely to start.
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