ROME — Juventus overcame a sluggish first-half display to kick off the defense of its Serie A crown with a 2-0 victory at home to Parma Saturday. A pair of quickfire goals shortly before the hour from Stephan Lichtsteiner and Andrea Pirlo proved the difference between the sides, after Arturo Vidal had seen a first-half penalty saved. Juve has not lost in the league since May 15, 2011 and its unbeaten run now stands at 24 victories and 16 draws, which is a record in the Italian top flight. The champion's preparations were nonetheless seriously undermined when coach Antonio Conte was handed a 10-month ban for failing to disclose information about match-fixing during his time at Siena in the 2010-11 season. In his absence, Massimo Carrera has been promoted to take control of first-team affairs on match days but he saw his charges make an uncertain start to proceedings at Juventus Stadium. Largely devoid of inspiration, the host managed to win a penalty in the 33rd minute when Lichtsteiner was fouled by visiting goalkeeper Antonio Mirate, but Vidal's spot-kick was saved. Things improved after the interval, and Lichtsteiner gave Juve the lead in the 55th minute when he converted a cut-back from the excellent Kwadwo Asamoah, who was making his Serie A debut after a close-season move from Udinese. Pirlo made it 2-0 with a low free-kick three minutes later, although Parma's players protested that the ball had not crossed the goal-line. In the first match of the season, Fiorentina came from behind to beat Udinese 2-1 thanks to a brace from Montengrin attacker Stevan Jovetic, who claimed his decisive second goal in injury time. Rayo beats Betis In Madrid, Leo Carrilho scored a second half-winner as Rayo Vallecano secured a 2-1 victory at Real Betis Saturday for a second straight win to open the Spanish league season. Carrilho's 62nd-minute winner from a well-guided shot off the break came after a frantic start that saw Rayo lead after two minutes when a cross into the area skidded on to the foot of Francisco “Piti” Medina to score from. Jorge Molina got his head to Benat Etxeberria's free kick to loop Betis' equalizer over goalkeeper Ruben Martinez two minutes later. Rayo can take comfort in knowing no club has been relegated after winning its first two games since Real Sociedad in 1979. Sociedad earned its first victory of the season as Imanol Agirretxe scored a pair of second-half goals to rally the Basque club past Celta Vigo 2-1, while Malaga saw a two-game winning streak snapped with a 1-1 draw against Mallorca. Zaragoza also earned a maiden victory as Helder Postiga scored with one minute to play in a 2-1 win against winless Espanyol, which played with 10-men after taking the lead. — Agencies
