Tudor gets unlikely assist in debut as Juve coach

New Juventus coach Igor Tudor had a direct role in the Bianconeri's first goal since he replaced the fired Thiago Motta.

Tudor was quick to gather a ball on the sideline and toss it to Teun Koopmeiners for a throw-in that bounced off Dusan Vlahovic and into the path of Kenan Yildiz. He dribbled through the defense before scoring from a tight angle midway through the first half.

"It just happened," Tudor said. "It wasn't something we practiced."

The goal ended up being decisive in a 1-0 win against Genoa during Tudor's debut in Serie A on Saturday.

The result was a sharp turnaround from 4-0 and 3-0 losses in Juventus' two previous matches, which led to Motta's firing.

Tudor was a popular appointment with supporters pleased to see a change and even happier that a former Juventus player, who spent most of his playing career at the Turin club, is now in charge and they chanted his name before kick-off.

"I heard the chants of the fans and it was emotional," Tudor said. "But the victory is more beautiful than these emotions. This was important for the fans. It was nice, but I was focused because it was important to start in the right way."

The Bianconeri conceded only one decent chance to a Genoa team coached by former Juventus player Patrick Vieira -- an acrobatic effort from Andrea Pinamonti at the start of the second half that barely missed the target.

Juventus then nearly doubled the lead with a series of chances in the final minutes.

"I'm very satisfied, because Genoa is a serious squad that is doing well, and they run," Tudor said. "We've had two or three training sessions and there's been some enthusiasm, but you don't get over a period like that in two or three days. We need to get over it by working hard."

Juventus remained fifth, one point behind Bologna, which won at Venezia 1-0 earlier for its fifth straight victory with a second-half volley from Riccardo Orsolini.

Vlahovic and Yildiz, who both struggled under Motta, were given more responsibility by Tudor and immediately repaid the new coach.

A negative note for Juventus was an apparent injury to key defender Federico Gatti during the first half.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.