Juventus beat Brescia 2-1 on Balotelli's return
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E-mail Xinhua, September 25, 2019
Eight-time defending champions Juventus beat newly-promoted northerners Brescia 2-1 to go top of Italian Serie A on Tuesday.
Mario Balotelli made his first start for Brescia but the former Inter and AC Milan striker was kept quiet in his return to Italy to play for his hometown club.
An own goal from Brescia defender Jhon Chancellor and Miralem Pjanic's second-half strike saw Juventus come from behind after Alfredo Donnarumma's early opener.
It was Juve's fourth win in the opening five matches and was achieved without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was rested with a slight muscular injury.
Balotelli was signed by Brescia in the offseason on a free transfer but was suspended for the first four matches following a red card in his final match for Marseille.
Donnarumma gave Brescia the lead in the fourth minute with a powerful shot which went through Wojciech Szczesny's gloves.
Juventus leveled shortly before the break when a corner from the right was bundled into his own net by Chancellor.
Juventus scored what proved to be the winner shortly after the hour. Paulo Dybala sent a free-kick into the wall but Pjanic fired the rebound into the bottom left corner.
In Tuesday's other game, Hellas Verona dominated but was held to a 0-0 draw by fellow struggler Udinese.
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