A week ago, Luciano Spalletti and Juventus went to southern Italy and got things wrong from the very beginning. Spalletti’s approach was the wrong one, and the way in which he wanted to play was very much
not well-executed by the players on the field. It was a mess, and something that Juve could really recover from against the reigning Serie A champions.
Seven days later, Spalletti got things right when it came to the approach. And while the on-field execution wasn’t always the best that it could be — which feels like an understatement considering the current state of Juventus these days — Spalletti’s squad was able to come away with three vital points against a direct competitor for a spot in the top four this season.
Juan Cabal’s goal all of three minutes after coming on as a substitute proved to be the difference in Juventus’ 1-0 win over the always-difficult Bolgona at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on Sunday night. Spalletti got things much more on the money compared to how things went against Napoli seven days earlier, and now he can stake claim to having a team that is within striking distance of the top four. Of course, some of that depends on how Roma does against Como on Monday night, but with that same Roma squad on the schedule and making their to Turin next weekend, getting back on track domestically and jumping over at least one rival for a spot in the top four was crucial on this chilly night in Emilia-Romagna.
And that’s is exactly what proved to be the case.
It was not perfect by any means. It only took a few minutes for Spalletti to sound loud and clear on the field mic as he shouted his frustration because of the mistakes his players were making. That only seemed to continue over the course of the subsequent 85 or so minutes as he tried to delicately maneuver his team through a matchup against a Bologna side in which Juve has basically played to a draw every single time the last couple of seasons.
But for a team that has struggled to consistent win under their last couple of managers, Spalletti now has a team that has won five out of their last six in all competitions. Again, I know it hasn’t always been pretty or how a lot of us would like to see it, but one of the biggest things Spalletti needed to do in the short term was to just get this team from stop dropping points so damn often.
Loss to Napoli aside, they’re starting to do that.
Fact is, both Spalletti and the Juventus players needed this win badly. They have gotten a little wind back i ntheir sails in Europe with a couple of wins, but it was in these kinds of tests against teams in or around the top four where they were going to find out a lot about themselves this month. They didn’t pass the Napoli test at all — and Spalletti admitted as such when it came to himself and the team as a whole. Against Bologna, though, it was different. He got the approach spot on. He got his subs right. He managed the game incredibly well after Juventus got the lead.
The last thing Juve needed to do was to put forward a solid performance, fight hard to get the lead, actually get the lead only to cough it up in the final minutes and drop points as a result. You know, the kind of thing we’ve seen on plenty of occasions the last couple of years. But rather than actually do that, they hung on — and three points are coming back to Turin with them.
You could say “Well, it’s easy to do that against a team playing down a man!” and that’s potentially true in theory. But Bologna are one of the few sides who play the kind of way where they could have easily overcome that kind of setback in the second half and still gotten points against Juventus. They just defy logic sometimes, and Vincenzo Italiano is the kind of manager who has a kind of approach that lends itself to chaos.
This time, though, it was Spalletti and his much more pragmatic game plan that worked the best. If that’s the way it will be as time continues to go on and it can continue to result in Juventus getting wins, then that’s the way this team needs to go.
He might not have gotten things wrong against Napoli, but thankfully we aren’t saying the same thing seven days later against Bolgona.
RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS
- If only every sub Spalletti brought on could score a goal three minutes after coming on like Cabal did, right? IF ONLY, PEOPLE, IF ONLY.
- Good for Cabal, though. He’s had some tough games the last couple of weeks. But the dude was absolutely FLYING to get on the end of that cross.
- And wait … Juve scored off a corner??? I don’t know what to do with myself now.
- Let’s just get it out of the way now: Lloyd Kelly, Man of the Match? Yeah, you ain’t gonna be wrong if you feel that way. This might have been his best game in a Juventus shirt. Dude was pretty dang good!
- Just keep that going, lad. Happy to continue to be pleasantly surprised.
- Those couple of Michele Di Gregorio saves in the first half look so incredibly important in hindsight. They were big in the moment, but they’re even the more important now that we can look back and pinpoint them as to why Bologna were held off the scoreboard.
- This was one of Di Gregorio’s best game of the season after some tough outings over the last month or two. Maybe, just maybe, he’s starting to lock in like he did as the 2024-25 season went on.
- Speaking of defense: BREMER BREMER BREMER BREMER BREMER BREMER.
- Yes, I am not the only one to be overjoyed by seeing Gleison Bremer and his incredibly sharp-looking haircut back on the field after he had knee surgery 2 1/2 months ago. Welcome back, big fella, you have been so incredibly missed in this team.
- Memo to Spalletti: YOU SAID YOU WILL NOT RUSH BREMER AND YOU STAY TRUE TO THAT, OK? I know it will be tempting to throw Bremer in there with a week in between games the next couple of weeks, but this is no time to just suddenly go against your line of thinking with a big fixture coming up next week.
- That being said, it would be pretty great to see Bremer back in the starting lineup against Roma. But only if he’s ready for it. Juve need to get this one right.
- Certainly was an interesting day for Jonathan David!
- I was happy to see Khephren Thuram wake up late in the first half. It was nice to see him out there.
- Another Kenan Yildiz goal contribution? WELL CONSIDER ME STUNNED, FOLKS.
- Weston McKennie covering more distance than anybody on the field is becoming such a common occurrence that it’s not even surprising anymore. You know, like as surprising as Yildiz doing something that contributes to a goal.
- Just give Wes the contract extension already. He’s deserving of it, folks.
- I was happy to see that only one of the Cambiaghi family who was involved in a Juventus fixture this weekend ended up scoring a goal. (In case you’re a little confused, here’s what I’m talking about.)
- That left side of the Juventus defense with Teun Koopmeiners and Andrea Cambiaso … that’s less than ideal.
- Can Cambiaso stop taking corners and free kicks? I’ve seen enough of him not even clearing the first defender on his cross.
- I think Giorgio Chiellini’s reaction on the quick shot to the crowd on what proved Cambiaso’s final “contribution” before being subbed off pretty much summed up the latter’s form at the moment. Just not good enough.
- Unfortunately, Francisco Conceição didn’t get a goal on his birthday. He did, however, get smacked in the face and pick up off the turf like he was some sort of little kid not wanting to go back inside after playing with his friends in the backyard. Not exactly the greatest thing to take place, but it was a funny visual.
- I am guessing I wasn’t the only one thinking bad Ex Effect thoughts when Federico Bernardeschi came trotting onto the field with 10 minutes to go. Good thing that didn’t happen.
- Another full 90 for Pierre Kalulu. There might not be anybody happier that Juve don’t have a midweek fixture. Enjoy the rest, my friend.
- Also pretty obvious, but it’s important to note that Yildiz will get a full week of rest ahead of facing one of Serie A’s best defenses. I like the sound of that. At least the first part.
- Juventus’ next five opponents after facing Roma: Pisa, Lecce, Sassuolo, Cremonese and Cagliari. That’s incredibly favorable even if there are a couple of tricky ones in there. You get a win against Roma and you jump back in the Champions League in mid-January.
