Ramsey and Bu on help Juventus beat Verona, 2-1
MILAN — Aaron Ramsey scored on his debut to send Juventus on its way to a 2-1 win over newly promoted Hellas Verona amid a strained atmosphere at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
That goal canceled out Miguel Veloso’s opener for Verona, which also missed a penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo was more successful with his spot kick for Juventus in the second half.
Juventus also needed Gianluigi Buffon to pull off a number of crucial saves to stop Verona from equalizing in the second half.
There was a small protest outside the stadium before the match in support of the 12 hardcore Juventus “ultra” fan leaders who were arrested Monday after allegedly making illegal demands to the club to obtain more tickets.
A group of around 20 fans chanted for their release while others handed out leaflets. There were also no flags or banners displayed in the Curva Sud, where the ultras normally watch the match from.
As well as Ramsey making his debut after joining from Arsenal in the offseason, Bu on was playing his first match since his return after a season at Paris Saint-Germain. It was his 902nd club match as a professional, equaling Paolo Maldini’s record for an Italian player.
Buffon could do nothing as Verona surprisingly took the lead in the 21st minute.
Samuele Di Carmine was tripped over by Merih Demiral but sent the resulting penalty onto the upright.
However, Juventus failed to clear and Velose fired into the top corner from 20 yards out.
Juventus leveled 10 minutes later when Ramsey’s effort was deflected into the bottom corner.
And the Bianconeri went in front four minutes after the interval as Ronaldo converted the penalty after Juan Cuadrado was fouled by Koray Günter.
Verona defender Marash Kumbulla was sent o in stoppage time following a second yellow card.