Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Benfica was a big game on a big stage, and Juventus eventually rose to the challenge.
There were some sloppy moments—enough to receive some boos when they left the pitch at halftime. But 10 minutes into the half they took the lead, and 10 minutes later they were up 2-0. A fluky penalty miss by Benfica kept that score where it was, and when the final whistle sounded Juve had claimed a huge win. It was their first victory over Benfica since 1993 (and only their second
all-time) and mathematically clinched a spot in at least the playoff round. The Bianconeri even have an outside chance at getting into the top eight and directly into the round of 16.
It was a time to step up, and a lot of players did just that. Who? Let’s take a closer look and see who led to this win.
MICHELE DI GREGORIO – 7.5. Made a huge save in the first half after a particularly awful giveaway right outside his box, and was able to marshal the defense well enough that even those mishaps—which were far too frequent for anyone’s liking—to a clean sheet against a team that was desperate for a result.
PIERRE KALULU – 6. He was culpable for a couple of those back-end giveaways that gave everyone in Juve colors agita, but he also contributed well in attack, recording two key passes and had a couple more passes that would have caused problems had the defenders not been able to clear them. Ultimately things evened out and he gets a minimum pass.
BREMER – 6. Another one who was responsible for a few mistakes, but he was also excellent marking in the box. He racked up seven clearances, along with two tackles and two interceptions.
LLOYD KELLY – 6.5. Made perhaps the most important defensive intervention of the game when he beat Vangelis Pavlidis to a rebound, keeping the game scoreless at a critical moment. He tied Bremer for the team lead with seven clearances, and led the team with four tackles.
ANDREA CAMBIASO – 6. Had a pretty even day, not making any of the mistakes that have been defining his recent form while also being solid but unspectacular as a participant in the attack.
MANUEL LOCATELLI – 6. Made an awful giveaway in the first half that led to Benfica’s most dangerous chance, but overcame that to turn in a huge defensive performance. He blocked five shots all on his own, along with three tackles and four clearances—he did all that carrying a yellow card for almost 40 minutes.
KHÉPHREN THURAM – 7.5. Opened the scoring with a fantastic goal, marked by both persistence and skill. His powerful runs through the middle helped kick off more than a few attacks, and he completed 94.7 percent of his passes.
WESTON McKENNIE – 7. His start on the right wing was a little slow, but he came to life in the second half when he moved inside, showing really impressive chemistry with Jonathan David. He made two key passes, and, of course, capped off a really well-run move with the second goal of the night.
FABIO MIRETTI – 5. Easily his worst match in some time. Didn’t have his first touch and didn’t make his decisions quick enough. Justifiably subbed off at halftime.
KENAN YILDIZ – 6. Wasn’t the unholy terror he can be, but he still came darn close to opening the scoring in the first half, only to be denied by a good save from Anatoliy Turbin. He even blocked a shot.
JONATHAN DAVID – 6.5. Missed what looked like a good opportunity on a header in the first half, but did some excellent work in the passing game, especially in the second half, where he really shone combining with McKennie. He shielded off his man just long enough to leave the ball for Thuram on the opener, and his final pass for McKennie’s strike was excellent. Did a lot of dirty work as opposed to the flashy stuff.
SUBS
FRANCISCO CONCEIÇÃO – 6. Didn’t have a ton of major actions in attack except for his three shots, one of which was relatively close, but his presence forced Benfica to deal with the threat of his pace and agility in a different way.
LOÏS OPENDA – 5. Had a dribble but only attempted four passes and didn’t get off any shots.
JUAN CABAL – 6. Notched a key pass and two clearances, and also won a couple of big free kicks in his own half as the game was closing down.
FILIP KOSTIC – NR. Didn’t do much as he replaced Yildiz down the left.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS – NR. Covered for Locatelli in the late stages.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
Luciano Spalletti can credit most of the issues in the first half to player mistakes, as Juve went completely pear-shaped trying to get out of the back for much of the latter parts of the period. Those mistakes still dogged them until they took the lead, and can’t keep happening or else Juve will ultimately get ruthlessly punished by a better team.
But he deserves credit for making the changes needed in the second half. Moving McKennie inside turned into a brilliant turn, as the American displayed fantastic chemistry with David and turned in a fantastic second half. If David is going to be the starter up top at the moment—and given Openda’s form it looked like will be for the foreseeable future—trying to play up that chemistry is a good idea. It would be even more interesting if Edon Zhegrova, whose chemistry with David is already firmly established given their days at Lille, were inserted into that equation.
Another aspect of McKennie and David’s work together is that it saw Juve played a lot of attacks through the middle. This has been rare this year. Both Spalletti and Igor Tudor both spread the ball out to the wings a lot. But that has seen a lot of attacks bog down, especially in the absence of Dusan Vlahovic as a heading threat. In Spalletti’s pre-match press conference he seemed to realize that, talking about the need to “rip those spaces open” —the spaces being the penalty area. Hopefully after this game Spalletti drills down on it and starts to push the ball through the middle more. It seems like the more promising mode of attack, because it seems to be a lot more effective than their wing work right now.
LOOKING AHEAD
Juve have two more big games ahead. First comes a home game against Napoli, then a Wednesday against Monaco. A win in the first will land them firmly in the hunt for the top four and perhaps even have another outside shot at rejoining the title race. Victory in the latter will guarantee at least a spot in the seed pot for the playoff. There’s even an outside shot that they can jump into the top eight and skip the playoff entirely, but that will take a whole lot of luck, as at least six of nine different scenarios would have to play out in order for that to happen.
