Juventus Wins Thriller
Copyright � 1998 Nando.net
Copyright � 1998 Reuters
MILAN (Sep 13, 1998 - 14:37 EDT) -- Juventus beat Perugia 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller on Sunday after the Italian champions were rocked by a stunning Serie A debut from Japanese playmaker Hidetoshi Nakata.
There was drama too for Juventus' main title rivals, Inter Milan and Lazio, who both settled for a point in the opening weekend of the season.
Inter was 2-0 down at Cagliari until two late goals by super sub Nicola Ventola made it 2-2, while Lazio finished 1-1 at Piacenza after Simone Inzaghi bagged a late equalizer for the home side.
Juventus dominated the first half at Perugia and were 3-0 up at the break.
Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a stinging low drive which bounced in off the post after the goalkeeper parried.
Juventus' 20-year-old Croatian defender, Igor Tudor, then made a dream debut by heading in an Alessandro Del Piero corner 10 minutes later. And defender Gianluca Pessotto crashed home the third with a curling long-range effort.
However, Nakata marked his arrival in the world's toughest league by rifling home an angled shot in the 48th minute and following up with a waist- high half-volley through a crowded goalmouth in the 57th.
Uruguayan substitute Daniel Fonseca looked to have steered Juventus to safety in the 65th minute, but Antonio Bernardini converted a late penalty for Perugia to ensure a nail-biting finish.
Mohamed Kallon, a Sierra Leone striker discovered by Inter three years ago and this season loaned to Cagliari, wreaked havoc on his own side by smacking home an unstoppable drive on the break in the 31st minute.
Kallon, who only turned 20 three weeks ago, was followed onto the scoresheet 10 minutes later after a glancing header by Cagliari teammate Roberto Muzzi.
It looked like a disastrous start to the season for Inter until newcomer Ventola pulled one back in the 76th minute, volleying home Benoit Cauet's high cross, and then squeezing in an equaliser five minutes later.
Inter were clearly missing Ronaldo, who is suspended after alleging last season that referees were biased in favor of Juventus.
Lazio, another tip for this season's championship, took a 73rd minute lead when new Yugoslav signing Dejan Stankovic unleashed a barrelling 25-yard drive, before Inzaghi nodded Piacenza's equaliser in the 87th minute.
It was a humbling experience for Lazio ace Christian Vieri, bought last month for 30 million dollars, and who was marked out of the game by the oldest man in the Serie A, 39-year-old defender Pietro Vierchowod.
Bari beat Venezia 1-0 in Sunday's other fixture.
In Saturday's action, German ace Oliver Bierhoff guided AC Milan to a 3-0 victory over Bologna and there were wins too for AS Roma over Salernitana (3- 1) and Fiorentina over Empoli (2-0).
Parma were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw by Vicenza and Udinese finished up 2-2 with Sampdoria.
