European Football: Thiago Motta’s Juventus reign begins with a walk for Como | European Club Football

New head coach Thiago Motta led Juventus to a comfortable 3-0 victory over the newly promoted How during their Serie A opener at a sold-out Allianz Stadium on Monday.

Belgian forward Samuel Mbangula and American winger Timothy Weah both scored in the first half to give Juve their first Serie A goals, before Andrea Cambiaso added a third from distance in injury time.

A rejuvenated Juventus are entering a new chapter under Motta, who led Bologna to the Champions League last season and now hopes to take the Serie A title back to Turin for the first time in four years.

It was a tough night for visitors Como, who challenged Juve for possession but lacked the quality to create clear-cut chances in their return to Italy’s top flight after 21 years. Como, coached by former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, secured promotion to Serie A after finishing second in Italy’s second division last season, three points behind Serie B champions Parma.

Juventus looked confident from the start and Dusan Vlahovic threatened Como’s goal in the 20th minute when his header went just wide, before Mbangula put them ahead with a solo effort in the 23rd minute.

The 20-year-old fired low from the edge of the penalty area, curling the ball into the bottom corner on his first-team debut after a season in Juve’s reserves. Mbangula also became the youngest Belgian goalscorer in Serie A history and the first Belgian player to score in Italy’s top flight for Juve.

Juventus extended their lead in injury time of the first half through Weah, who turned in a cross from Kenan Yildiz and saw the ball bounce off the inside of the crossbar. The home side resumed on the front foot and Vlahovic thought he had made it 3-0 just after the break when he nodded in a cross from Juan Cabal – but the goal was disallowed for offside. Cambiaso, however, made it a third in the dying minutes.

Atalanta to beat Lecce On Monday it was 4-0, with two goals from Marco Brescianini and Mateo Retegui.

In La Liga, Atletico Madrid fought back twice to take a point from an entertaining 2-2 draw at Villarreal in their season opener on Monday.

Arnaut Danjuma put the Amsterdammers ahead in the 18th minute with a close-range shot, but Atlético quickly hit back two minutes later with a shot from Marcos Llorente on a counter-attack.

Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak failed to clear a cross in the 37th minute and his mistake allowed the ball to deflect off the back of captain Koke and into the net. Striker Alexander Sørloth, making his debut for Atlético after a stellar season for Villarreal as their top scorer, found the equaliser with a towering header six minutes into the first half of added time.

João Félix has been left out of Atlético’s squad, with the Portuguese forward reportedly close to a move to Chelsea after a £42m fee was agreed between the clubs.