Yesterday, Juventus recorded their long-awaited first win in the Champions League this season.
Maybe it was a bit late and against a minnow opponent who still gave us some scares, but at least it was good for a change.
Adrien Rabiot opened the scoring in the first half and Dusan Vlahovic doubled the lead after the break. Surprisingly, Maccabi Haifa snatched one away from him, but just as they were closing in on the equalizer, Rabiot capped off the comeback with a third goal from the Old Lady and his personal second.
So here are our three takeaways from Juve’s 3-1 victory over their Israeli opponents.
Allegri’s Rabiot
Once upon a time, Max Allegri told us the story of a French midfielder who can score more than 10 goals per season.
However, Rabiot managed to embarrass his manager by not scoring a single goal during their first season together in Turin.
Ultimately, the former PSG man broke his duck by scoring the opening goal against Maccabi, before sealing victory with a well-taken header.
So, are we finally starting to witness the promised version of Rabiot, or was it a mere fluke?
lack of sharpness
For the second game in a row, Juventus managed to score three goals in a relatively comfortable victory against a struggling opponent.
And like in the win over Bologna, Dusan Vlahovic contributed a goal, but at the same time missed several chances and naturally Moise Kean fared no better.
So while the Serb’s return to scoring should be celebrated, he needs to be more clinical in front of goal, especially on the road when facing tougher opponents.
The Bianconeri ultimately emerged victorious thanks to a plethora of chances (mostly created by the brilliant Angel Di Maria), but their strikers need to improve their conversion rate to get results against top teams.
Doomed already?
Although Juventus picked up their first three points of the season, PSG and Benfica managed to make life even harder for the Old Lady by sharing the spoils in Lisbon and bringing their tally to 7 points each.
In practice, the Portuguese (who are theoretically our direct rivals for second place) will add at least 10 points as they are expected to beat Maccabi in the second leg.
Therefore, even a victory against the Eagles in Portugal will not be enough for Juventus, as we will also have to get a result against the French champions.
Unfortunately, our chances of making it to the knockout stages remain bleak.
