Finally a victory!
For a club that espouses the motto that winning is all that matters, Juventus surely weren’t winning enough. In fact, the team failed to record a single win in all competitions throughout the ill-fated month of September.
Fortunately, Max Allegri’s men managed to break the disastrous run with a convincing victory over Bologna last night.
Filip Kostic opened the floodgates and the surprising partnership of Dusan Vlahovic and Arek Milik did the same in the second half.
For once, the team seemed serene, energetic and positive. For once, we can confidently call this group a “team.”
Now the question that arises is regarding the near future. Did Juventus really turn a corner? Will it be the true revival under the direction of Allegri? Or is it just another false dawn?
While the display was certainly encouraging, Juve were up against a team undergoing an identity change, which has arguably been a recurring theme in Turin for the last three years.
After spending several seasons playing a 3-pointer under Sinisa Mihajlovic, his successor Thiago Motta is trying to implement a completely different style and system.
Well, at least we won’t have to wait too long to find out the answer to these questions, as the upcoming Tour de Force will see the Bianconeri take on Milan and Torino and will also have some crucial European fixtures to negotiate.
Here are some of our random takeaways gleaned from the Old Lady’s victory over Bologna:
Having the men up front scoring the goals is always a positive sign. Now surely midfielders and defenders should contribute from time to time, but a healthy team relies first and foremost on their forwards to score goals. Milik is an absolute monster, whether inside the box or on its edge. After a couple of warnings, he didn’t give Skorupski a chance with his blistering. Despite scoring three goals, Juventus are still a waste in front of goal. Milik was perhaps unlucky to see his header hit the crossbar, but Vlahovic should have done better when he found himself in front of the goalkeeper. Juan Cuadrado also contributed his usual miss. While the team allowed themselves to splurge against Bologna, we need to be more clinical on highly contested matters, where failure comes at a high price. Gleison Bremer seemed more confident when he played on the right side of Leonardo Bonucci instead of the other way around. It looks like Allegri’s eventual midfield trio will be Locatelli-Paredes-Rabiot, at least until Paul Pogba returns to action. Despite the victory, the half-empty Allianz Stadium remains a sad sight.
