Even before kick-off, we all predicted a long and grueling night of football for Juventus at the Parc des Princes.
After conceding two goals in the first 22 minutes, Juve fans feared the worst. At the time, Kylian Mbappe and company showed no signs of slowing down. A route in Paris loomed on the horizon.
Fortunately for us all, Max Allegri’s men kept their composure and showed signs of improvement from the second half on, while Mbappe’s clinical touch deserted him after eating a late shot from Gleison Bremer.
The Bianconeri reduced the score thanks to Weston McKennie’s header, but made only half-hearted attempts to equalise.
So, at the end of the day, did the old lady dodge a bullet by avoiding a big disheartening defeat? Or did we miss an opportunity to take something away from an incredibly difficult encounter?
Well, maybe it’s a bit of both, or even something in between.
At the end of the day, Juventus remain one of the biggest names in European football, and the term “gracious defeat” shouldn’t be written near a club that espouses the famous motto “winning is all that matters”.
However, Allegri’s team continued to show signs of improvement, with Leandro Paredes being the main protagonist on this front.
A week ago, the Argentine was still a PSG player. But last night, he seemed like a Bianconero to the fullest extent of him, acting as a catalyst in the middle of the pitch, not slowing down in settling himself at the heart of the team’s project.
Since the days of Miralem Pjanic, Juventus have lacked a genuine Regista who could effortlessly direct the game in midfield. In the last two seasons, we tried to pretend that Arthur Melo could be the one (he wasn’t).
So while the team’s effort on Tuesday wasn’t enough to take anything away from the French capital, the encouraging signs suggest Juventus have what it takes to contend for the Scudetto title, especially in the absence of an out-of-control contender.
Now is the time to show some courage when taking on opponents, big and small, and Sunday’s game against Salernitana should give us a clearer view of where the team stands at the moment.
So will you witness last weekend’s hollow version in Florence, or the imperfect but improved version we saw during the second half in Paris?
