Perth’s Calcio Italiano came to an end on Tuesday as Juventus saw off Palermo 2-0 at HBF Park thanks goals from Kenan Yildiz and Arkadiusz Milik.
A week of Italian football in Western Australia culminated in the fixture that was attended by 15,352 spectators on a chilly winter night.
As expected, Serie A side Juventus made most of the early running with captain Yildiz looking to create from his number 10 role.
Francisco Conceicao, the goalscorer against Inter Milan on Saturday, was dangerous on the right wing and his cross almost led to Palermo defender Tommaso Cassandro turning the ball into his own net.
The Portuguese attacker continued to impress, cutting inside and flashing a left foot shot just past the post on 25 minutes.
Yildiz had half of the stadium on their feet with a bouncing shot that hit the side netting, while Palermo’s first effort of note came on 29 minutes when Filippo Ranocchia struck an effort over the crossbar.
With two minutes to go until the break, the deadlock was finally broken by Juventus. Zeki Celik’s low shot was unconvincingly fumbled back to him by Jesse Joronen, allowing the Turkish full back to cross and Yildiz was on hand to score form 12 yards.
Palermo tried to respond quickly, and Dennis Johnsen had their only shot on target for the half, forcing Mattia Perin into a save low to his left.
Juventus should have doubled their lead in the opening minutes of the second period, but Randal Kolo Muani was unable to convert twice from close range. The striker again had a great chance to find the net on the hour mark when he was fed by Weston McKennie. However, he again shot over the crossbar.
A raft of changes followed for both sides and Jeremie Boga for Juventus was lively on introduction, forcing a strong one handed save from Joronen with his first touch. Dominic Vavassori had a good opportunity for Serie B underdogs Palermo and his stinging strike that forced Perin into a save.
Moments after having a goal ruled out for offside, Milik got the second for Juventus with a great solo effort. The Polish striker picked up the ball 30 yards out, feinted past a defender, before rolling the ball calmly into the net.
There was still time for new Palermo signing Gabriel Strefezza to have a long-range effort turned behind for a corner. Strefezza then turned provider for Jeremy Le Douaron who was also denied by Perin, meaning the Sicilians were unable to get on the scoresheet.
Both teams leave Western Australia with a win and a loss to their name ahead of domestic campaigns which get underway in the coming weeks.
Juventus: Mattia Perin; Zeki Celik, Federico Gatti, Teun Koopmeiners, Juan Cabal; Weston McKennie, Douglas Luiz Soares; Francisco Conceicao, Kerim Alajbegovic, Kenan Yildiz; Randal Kolo Muani.
Substitutes: Michele Di Gregorio, Carlo Pinsoglio, Sebastiano Nava, Manuel Locatelli, Lloyd Kelly, Edon Zhegrova, Jeremie Boga, Arkadiusz Milik, Fabio Miretti, Daniele Rugani, Andrea Cambiasso, Arthur Melo, Jonathan David, Augusto Owusu, Javier Gil Puche, Justin Oboavwoduo, Adin Licina, Arman Durmisi.
Palermo: Jesse Joronen; Tommaso Cassandro, Giangiacomo Magnani, Pietro Ceccaroni, Tommaso Augello; Jacopo Segre, Filippo Ranocchia, Hernani; Dennis Johnsen, Emanuel Gyasi, Joel Pohjanpalo.
Substitutes: Manfredi Nespola, Mattia Fortin, Antonio Palumbo, Claudio Gomes, Gabriel Strefezza, Dominic Vavassori, Mattia Bani, Jeremy Le Douaron, Nahuel Estevez, Pierozzi, Patryk Peda, Bozzolan, Francesco Balsamo, Salvatore Squillacioti, Federico Barba.
