14 September 2019
Juventus Women opened their Serie A Femminile account with a 2-1 victory against Empoli Ladies at Stadio Ale & Ricky at Vinovo. Rita Guarino’s ladies scored two second half goals to secure the victory.
After their exploits in the UEFA Women’s Champions League against Barcelona in the midweek, the Bianconere officially got their league campaign and the defence of their title underway.
The visitors threatened at goal in the 11th minute, and they forced Giuliani into making a great acrobatic save. Eight minutes later, new signing Maria Alves, who made her derby with Juventus, was involved in a threatening attacking movement when she burst into the box and fired towards goal, only to see her effort go slightly wide.
Empoli made it 0-1 in the 25th minute after Panzeri brought down the opposition in the box. Prugna took to the spot and made no mistake in sending the ball into the back of the net with a drive that was angled slightly to the left.
Juventus started off the second half strong, laying on attack after attack and it paid when Cristiana Girelli pulled back the equalizer in the 55th minute. The striker, who scored 13 goals last season, rose above everyone else and connected onto the end of a corner to nod home the ball. Guarino introduced Aurora Galli in place of Andrea Straskova just after the hour mark, before Girelli saw her effort parried away by Baldi.
The Empoli shot-stopper pulled off an excellent diving save to deny Cernoia from an excellently executed and powerful free-kick. The Bianconere’s hard work and persistence saw the scoreline soon turned 2-1 in favour of the hosts, as a goalmouth scramble saw Caruso get the final touch as the ball crossed over the line. A chance fell to both sides on either end of the field, but it was to be a victory and three important points for Juventus.
Juventus Women: Giuliani, Sikora, Gama, Sembrant, Panzeri (Boattin 46'), Pedersen, Caruso, Cernoia, Maria Alves (Rosucci 86’), Girelli, Staskova (Galli 63’)
Substitutes: Hyyrynen, Galli, Franco, Rosucci, Boattin, Bragonzi, Bellucci, Bacic, Tasselli
"Today's Empoli put us in difficulty, it is a very organized team and frankly, they surprised us," reveals Cristiana Girelli. "We started with little determination, but in the second half we recovered and the real character of this team was on show, which allowed us to bring home the three points."
"I was expecting a complicated match," added Coach Guarino. "Because we came into this game on the back of a Champions League match, in which we spent mental energy. It was not easy to start on the right foot, we know it will be a difficult league."
