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Angel Di Maria's Juventus debut saw him get smashed into by the referee in a brutal collision.
The Bianconeri played their first game of pre-season on Saturday night, defeating Mexican side CD Guadalajara 2-0 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Marco Da Graca and Mattia Compagnon grabbed the goals to give Max Allegri's side a winning start and there was plenty of excitement from Di Maria, who has signed on a free transfer after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.
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But the Argentina international very nearly suffered a serious injury in his first appearance for his new club - and the culprit was none other than the referee.
The man in the middle could not get out of the way and his momentum took him right into Di Maria - accidentally smashing him into next week like it was an NFL tackle.
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The slow motion replay shows just how bad the nasty clash, with the ref appearing to inadvertently strike Di Maria with his arm and both men ending up on the turf.
The incident happened in the 35th minute and fortunately Di Maria was able to continue. Juventus will have much tougher tests in pre-season in upcoming games against Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
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“It was a good test. The team have worked hard in Turin and you can see the result on the pitch,” Allegri said in his press conference, as per Juventusnews24.
“We played well with good rhythm at times both in the first half and the second. I’m satisfied with the young players and our new signings, who have contributed well.
“Paul Pogba played a good game, but there’s still some aspect to work on.
“I Liked [Nicolo] Fagioli and also [Federico] Gatti, who did well in the first goal, even though he still needs to understand some defensive mechanism.”
Featured Image Credit: Image: ESPNTopics: Angel Di Maria, Juventus, Serie A
