Juventus 2 - Bologna 1: Initial reaction and random observations

And then, in the last game of the 2016-17 Serie A season for Juventus, a 17-year-old kid by the name of Moise Kean scored the game-winning goal with seconds to go before the final whistle.

This post-game thread had a different kind of lede about five minutes before this new one was written. We have Mr. Kean to blame for that one. Why? Because just when it looked like Juve were going to slog their way to a season-ending draw and truly play some uninspiring football heading into the week leading up to the Champions League final, the youngest player on the field popped his head up and scored his first-ever goal at the senior level to give the six-time defending Italian champions one final win.

Counterpoint: Juventus still played relatively meh regardless of the result. Got me there.

Either way, MOISE KEAN, PEOPLE. MOISE KEAN.

There have been a good amount of firsts when it comes to Kean’s small handful of appearances for Juventus this season. He was the first player born in the 2000s to make his Serie A debut. Just days later he was the first player born in the 2000s to play in a Champions League game. And now, on the final day of the season, he becomes the first player born in the 2000s to score a goal in a Serie A game.

That’s pretty good for a kid who is just a few months into his 17th year on this planet.

But it almost seems appropriate for Kean to have those titles attached to his name seeing as how he’s shot through Juventus’ youth ranks. For much of the primavera season he was a 16-year-old starlet playing against players who are two, three or even four years older than him. And in his rise through the Juventus academy, he’s shown why he’s one of the best prospects the club has had in a good amount of years.

Kean almost certainly has a bright future in front of him.

We got a small yet nice little glimpse of what he can do on Saturday as he gave Juventus one final win in this record-breaking Serie A season.

So on a day where Juventus had nothing really to play for, where the biggest thing we wanted to see was nobody get hurt, possibly the next homegrown player to be a first team regular ended up stealing three points right before the final whistle. Not exactly a bad little Saturday for the Kean family.

RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

• Juventus had a 20-year-old starting in goal and a 17-year-old score the game-winning goal. These times, they are a changing. For one game, at least.
• The thing I liked most about Emil Audero’s debut? If he was nervous, you would have never known it. He just looked confident out there even though he really didn’t have much to do in the grand scheme of things. The only real test he had in goal was a shot that was impossible shot to try and stop on Bologna’s lone goal of the game.
• Classic Max Allegri move: Tell us what most of the starting lineup is going to be and then pretty much go against half of what he said 24 hours earlier. He’s such a trickster when it comes to his starting lineup quotes.
• Gonzalo Higuain: Quite wasteful against Bologna. Must be saving his goals for next Saturday.
• Paulo Dybala: Jumped on one of the follow-up chances after Higuain didn’t score. The Dybala Mask was present and made an appearance at the Dall'Ara on Saturday. Let’s hope it’s the same when Juventus play next Saturday, too.
• Stefano Sturaro: Still not a left winger.
• Claudio Marchisio: That captain’s armband just seems so appropriate on his arm.
• Is there really that much else to talk about here?
• No, probably not.
• But nobody got hurt. And as cool as it was to see Kean score his first-ever Serie A goal and add another “first in the 2000s” title to his name, keeping Juventus’ biggest player healthy is the most important thing to come out of Saturday’s season finale. There’s much, much bigger things to play for in seven days come kickoff in Cardiff.
• Okay, fine. One more time: MOISE KEAN!!!