Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain Finally Click, and It's Huge for Juventus

Having laboured in recent weeks, Tuesday night saw Juventus rediscover their cutting edge in attack, running out comfortable 4-0 winners away to Dinamo Zagreb in their second UEFA Champions League group game.

Indeed, before this encounter at the Stadion Maksimir, the Bianconeri opened their 2016/17 European campaign with a disappointing 0-0 draw to Sevilla, while also looking far from their best in Serie A wins over Cagliari and Palermo as well as a 2-1 loss to Inter Milan at San Siro.

"I think, though, that Juventus must get our feet back on the ground and be practical and solid," coach Massimiliano Allegri demanded at his pre-match press conference. "The fact is that to win games you have to work, sweat, toil and play well."

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Clearly the Juve boss was expecting his players to show improvement, and they would do just that, turning on the style somewhat in a match that showcased the very best talents of their two major summer signings.

Just in case the Bianconeri needed a helping hand to kickstart their season, Dinamo's back line was certainly in a charitable mood after just 24 minutes. Leonardo Bonucci played a long ball forward that Leonardo Sigali inexplicably flicked backwards, and Miralem Pjanic snuck in behind the defence to slot beyond goalkeeper Adrian Semper.

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It was almost comical in execution and just what the ailing Old Lady needed, putting her firmly in the driving seat, but the scorer went on to ensure they did not look back in a thoroughly dominant opening 45 minutes.

Allegri appears to have learned his lesson after testing Pjanic in the central role of his 3-5-2 against Inter, once again fielding him on the left of the midfield three where he can move much more freely around the pitch.

The 26-year-old was everywhere in the first half, winning tackles, pressing defenders and working in unison with those around him, but—as the FourFourTwo Stats Zone graphic in the tweet below highlights—it was his passing that truly made the difference.

He may have only connected with 23 attempts, but his range and vision repeatedly opened up the home side, who could not seem to get close enough to Pjanic as he drifted between markers to distribute the ball in wonderful fashion.

"It was like watching a young Andrea Pirlo stroll around out there, bossing the game," one supporter told Bleacher Report as the half-time whistle blew. If there was one moment where that comparison held true, it was almost certainly the pass Pjanic delivered to Gonzalo Higuain to double Juve's lead.

Collecting the ball just inside the opposition half, he delivered it with perfect timing to the advancing striker, who in turn chested it down before volleying it into the net from around 12 yards out.

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It was the kind of goal that justified the club's massive summer outlay on the duo, with Higuain in particular brought in with the Champions League specifically in mind. After the departure of his compatriot Carlos Tevez from Juventus one year earlier, the move for the Napoli star appeared to be recognition that they needed a striker who could deliver on the biggest stage.

His critics will sneer and point to the Copa America and FIFA World Cup final misses that saw Higuain ridiculed, but the past 12 months have seen him raise his game to a far higher standard.

The fact he scored 36 goals in 35 Serie A appearances last term should be proof enough, yet the question of his ability to perform when the spotlight is firmly upon him still arguably remained unanswered.

Yet while he may not have won over all the skeptics, his first few months in Turin have shown that he is among the deadliest scorers in the sport, averaging a league goal every 76.5 minutes.

He has netted four times already in Serie A, despite figures from WhoScored.com showing that his number of shots per league game has fallen from 5.2 shots last season to just 2.3 this term.

Unsurprisingly, that return stems from an improvement in his accuracy, with Squawka figures indicating Higuain has hit the target with 64 per cent of his attempts in 2016/17 compared to 57 per cent with Napoli a year earlier.

One stunning fact was noted in this Opta tweet, with the goal against Dinamo marking the first time Higuain had netted in an away Champions League game since a 2011 fixture between Ajax and Real Madrid.

The man himself was delighted that he had scored, but after the match, he discussed his growing partnership with Paulo Dybala, telling Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia) that they have not yet found their rhythm together:

"

At times I ask him to play closer to me, though it all depends on the circumstances of the game.

I prefer him closer, but in the end it's his choice. I am in a good moment of form, but we're still at the beginning, settling in with new teammates and system.

I will improve game after game and winning helps you to win. We are not yet at the top of our capabilities, but we are getting the results in the meantime.

"

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One reason Higuain's continued brilliance in front of goal has been so important to Juventus has been the struggles of his compatriot Dybala, with the former Palermo man suffering in his second campaign with the club.

Indeed, after netting 21 goals last term, he had yet to find the back of the net this season, much to the concern of fans and observers of the Bianconeri. He would end that drought in spectacular fashion, however, scoring Juve's third with a sublime second-half effort from around 30 metres out.

It was the kind of goal he has made a habit of plundering: his shot dipping and swerving viciously to leave the opposition goalkeeper with very little hope of stopping it.

"It's tough when you don't score, but I found the net tonight and it went well," Dybala admitted to Mediaset Premium shortly after the full-time whistle (h/t Football Italia). "I thought that I was doing OK anyway, so long as the team was winning and I didn't score, it was fine. I continue playing the same way and I just do what the coach says."

Those words may seem somewhat cliched, but it certainly will not hurt Juventus to have the 22-year-old back among the goals. With him and Higuain in tandem and Pjanic supplying the ammunition, any other problem within the Juventus starting XI will almost certainly fade into the background.

Goals don't just change football matches, they win them, and few net more often than Juve's Argentinian duo. On Tuesday night, they were on the scoresheet together for the first time as team-mates, and it will not be the last.