Higuain fires Juventus to winning start

Rome (AFP) – Gonzalo Higuain needed less than nine minutes to start paying off his 90-million-euro ($102m) transfer fee as Juventus began their Serie A title defence with a 2-1 win over Fiorentina on Saturday.

The Argentina striker came off the bench to seal the three points with a typical poacher’s strike a quarter of an hour from the end at the Juventus Stadium.

Fiorentina’s Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic had cancelled out Sami Khedira’s stunning first-half opener for the champions.

But Higuain, who scored a record 36 league goals for Napoli last season, picked up where he left off to get Juve off to a winning start in their bid for a sixth consecutive title.

The 28-year-old been on the field for exactly eight minutes and 27 seconds when Khedira’s blocked shot spun across the Fiorentina goalmouth.

Higuain was first to react and he was able to squeeze the ball between Fiorentina goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu and his near post from a tight angle.

Up to that point, Fiorentina had been looking the more likely winners despite Juve having been on top for most of the opening period.

The champions spurned a string of half-chances before Khedira fired them into a 37th-minute lead with a rocket of a header.

Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini whipped in a cross from the left and his team-mate met it at full sprint just behind the penalty spot, leaving Tatarusanu with no chance.

Fiorentina, who finished fifth last season, worked their way back into the contest after the break.

And their efforts were rewarded when Croatia striker Kalinic outjumped left-back Alex Sandro at the back post to nod a corner past Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Five minutes later however Higuain offered a glimpse of the predatory instincts that prompted Juve to trigger his release clause at Napoli.

Title rivals Roma also got their campaign off to a winning start, beating Udinese 4-0 earlier on Saturday.