While this one wasn’t the least bit pretty, it was mission accomplished for Juventus, who avoided what would have been a discouraging slip-up in Cremona. The Bianconeri ran their luck at times, while Cremonese goalkeeper Matteo Carnesecchi looked flawless… at least for the first 90 minutes.
Late in the day, an awkward but decisive free-kick from Arkadiusz Milik slipped past the goalkeeper to the dismay of the stunned crowd at the Stadio Giovanni Zini who no doubt felt their players deserved more for their gutsy performance. But that’s the law of football, and the giant trumps the minnow more often than not.
So here are our three takeaways from Juve’s last-gasp victory over Cremonese in what was their maiden outing in 2023.
Missed opportunity for young people?
In what was a pleasant event for the fans, Juventus started with three young players in Nicolo Fagioli, Fabio Miretti and Matias Soulé. However, it seemed that the team only reached second gear after their second-half exits and the introduction of regular starters such as Federico Chiesa, Adrien Rabiot and Leandro Paredes.
Although these youngsters had their moments, with Soulé proving to be our most dangerous player in the first half, we have to wonder if this disappointing outing would hurt their chances of consistently featuring in the coming games.
Saturday’s game against Udinese could be revealing in this regard.
Allegri’s blunder
Since the start of the season, Max Allegri’s tactics have been hit or miss, and arguably more of the latest in Cremona. Luckily for the quarterback, he can always count on top-quality players to come off the bench and make a difference, but it must be said that his starting line-up was a bit disconcerting.
In Miretti, Fagioli, McKennie and Locatelli, the manager started with four central midfielders who sometimes stepped on each other’s feet while Milik was isolated up front. This abundance of midfielders was obviously unnecessary against the technically mediocre Cremonese, as it stalled play in midfield.
Too deep for Chiesa
It is true that we have a crisis on the right flank with Juan Cuadrado, Mattia De Sciglio and Angel Di Maria injured, which would naturally lead to some confusing selections, but let’s hope this is just one of those rare cases where Federico Chiesa has to act. as winger due to an emergency situation.
This position is too deep for the Euro 2020 winner, preventing him from showcasing his favorite pastime, storming into the box and wreaking havoc on the opposition.
Can Fede thrive as a second striker in Allegri’s current 3-5-2 formation? Only the throw can reveal the answer, but as long as he’s not acting full-back, we’d certainly welcome the experiment.
