This archive report was first published on 23 August 2021.
Italian football witnessed a dramatic opening weekend, with six red cards in four matches and three big-name managers returning to the touchline.
On Sunday, Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a last-gasp winner for Juventus in a 2-2 draw against Udinese, while Tammy Abraham repaid Jose Mourinho's faith with two assists on his Serie A debut for Roma.
At the Dacia Arena in Udine, Ronaldo entered the field to loud applause from the Juve fans on the hour mark with Juve leading 2-1, but his stoppage-time header was ruled out for offside in a dramatic finish.
Massimiliano Allegri, returning as Juventus coach, played down the controversy, saying that he was always planning to bring on Ronaldo.
“Cristiano is OK… It’s the start of the season and seeing the condition everyone is in and thinking about the game, especially at the beginning, I put him on the bench knowing that there would be a need for him to come on,” Allegri told broadcaster DAZN.
Meanwhile, at the Stadio Olimpico, Tammy Abraham set up Roma’s first two goals on his Serie A debut, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan scoring the opener and Nicolo Zaniolo’s second yellow card giving a brave Fiorentina side hope.
However, great work again from Abraham led to Roma retaking the lead through Jordan Veretout, and the French midfielder made sure Mourinho got three points from his first match in Serie A since winning the league with Inter Milan in 2010 when he rolled home the third in the 79th minute.
“We were good 11 against 11, good 10 against 10, but with 11 against 10 we weren’t that good,” Mourinho told DAZN.
Luciano Spalletti also triumphed on his return to football with Napoli, his team running out 2-0 winners over promoted Venezia despite playing three-quarters of the match a man down after striker Victor Osimhen was sent off for punching Daan Heymans.
