The old line that every goalkeeper who plays against Juventus suddenly becomes some Titan-level mix of Lev Yashin and Gianluigi Buffon has gotten cliche over the years, but cliches often form around truth.
And over the last week, it has been a deep truth.
After watching Rui Silva reject shot after shot on Tuesday in the Champions League, Juve returned home on Saturday for the Derby della Mole, only to see the Granata’s backup keeper, Alberto Paleari, go Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan and rattle off a series of clutch saves that kept the year’s first Derby scoreless.
So how did Juve’s players do in such a frustrating performance? Let’s delve into it.
MICHELE DI GREGORIO – 7. Made a massive save near the hour mark that kept Che Adams from opening the scoring from a great position. Other than that he didn’t have a whole lot to do, but was quick enough off his line to ensure that a few balls that did get behind the defense were wrapped up.
PIERRE KALULU – 6. Made a pair of tackles and again pushed up to help the attack, although his output wasn’t a good as it was during the Sporting game.
DANIELE RUGANI – 6.5. Completed 98.2 percent of his passes and kept Simeone mostly silent throughout the first half. It was a little worrying that the Argentine nearly got straight through the defense the moment he was withdrawn.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS – 6.5. Made a pair of key passes and also led the team with four clearances. His long balls weren’t as accurate as they could have been, but how wild would it be if this was where he needed to be all along?
WESTON McKENNIE – 6. Showed up all over the field and was deeply unlucky not to score when Paleari rejected his point-blank header in the 68th minute. Added two key passes to the ledger as well.
MANUEL LOCATELLI – 6.5. Made three key passes and a team-high four interceptions on a game-high 130 touches. Let down a bit by those ahead of him.
KHÉPHREN THURAM – 6.5. Co-led the team with four key passes, and his four tackles were more than anyone who saw the field on either team. He’s starting to find those powerful midfield runs again.
ANDREA CAMBIASO – 6. Had a key pass and was relatively solid defensively.
FRANCISCO CONCEIÇÃO – 6. Tied for the team lead with three dribbles and was barely denied by Paleari in the first half. Still, he needs to diversify his game a little bit, because he’s getting predictable and he won’t be able to coast on pure talent for long.
KENAN YILDIZ – 6. Made four key passes, three dribbles, and hit the target with two of four shots, but just couldn’t get the final result out of things. Looked a little fatigued by the end.
DUSAN VLAHOVIC – 6. The most interesting statistic for him was three tackles, as he led a press that caused Torino some problems over the course of the evening. Could’ve done better with some more end product though, even though his supply wasn’t fantastic.
SUBS
FEDERICO GATTI – 6. Led the team with five clearances, but her was a little wonky in defense from time to time, and it almost hurt the Old Lady.
JONATHAN DAVID – 5.5. The lack of end product is the only thing that didn’t bring this up to a solid 6. He was in good positions a lot of times but was unable to sneak the ball into the goal, dueing to a lack of service and that tiny bit of missing edge.
EDON ZHEGROVA – 6. Added some variety to the attack on the right, and had a key pass as well as two shots. Looked a lot more dangerous than a younger Conceição. Putting him in alongside Savid was a good touch, given how well they know each other.
LOÏS OPENDA – NR. Scattershot and relatively weak after coming on.
VASILIJE ADZIC – NR. Perhaps getting a little vain after that goal against Inter, his highlight was him jogging over to the corner flag and having a spat with Zhegr0va over wh0 w0uld take a corner kick, before simply taking the set pice while Zhegrova fumed next to him.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
There isn’t a whole much to complain about for Spalletti here. Like Tuesday, he had the team playing quite well only for a combination of poor finishing and insane goalkeeping kept Juve at bay.
If I could quibble, I would’ve sent Joao Mario on the field as opposed to Openda. That kind of creativity on the wings is a boon in any system. Seeing him and Zhegrova together on the right is a terrifying prospect.
But, utlimately, the only advice Spalletti could give his charges—especially given the way Paleari was playing—was “finish better.” The tactics didn’t have a much different look to them, and despite his suggestion that he may change systems over the break, he clearly likes Koopmeiners playing from deep on the defensive line. Time will tell if he shakes things up.
LOOKING AHEAD
Juve will come out of the international break with a game against a badly struggling Fiorentina side. Then they head to Norway for a Champions League match with Bodø/Glimt.
