Sunday was the last in Juventus’ three-game stretch against direct competitors at the top of the table, and they acquitted themselves as well as they have in quite some time. In what may have been the most
complete performance we’ve seen the team put in since the false dawn of Mottaball against AC Milan this past January, they put a pair of goals past the league’s best defense and hung on after a late mistake to beat Roma 2-1, pulling themselves to within a point of the Giallorossi for fourth place.
It was a game where everyone contributed, and the ideas of Luciano Spalletti are starting to show themselves in the Bianconeri’s attacking play. They handled Gian Piero Gasperini’s patented man-to-man press better than they’ve handled any press all season, and despite being outshot 14-13 were by far the more dangerous team when they went forward. Had Edon Zhegrova’s mistake and Andrea Cambiaso’s marking not gifted Roma their goal, it’s entirely likely they would’ve kept a clean sheet as well.
So how did everyone do between the lines? Let’s take a closer look.
MICHELE DI GREGORIO – 6.5. Tough luck on the rebound for the goal, as he was left out to dry by some awful marking. The rest of his saves were easy, and he marshaled the defense well from the back.
PIERRE KALULU – 6.5. Racked up two tackles and three clearances while being a constant support in the attack. That included a key pass and he was even credited with a dribble.
BREMER – 7.5. The big man was the absolute rock he’s always been in the hour that he was on the pitch. The stats are typically excellent: two tackles, five clearances, a pair of blocked shots, and an interception. Equally impressive was that he was able to effectively defend both Paulo Dybala as a false nine and Evan Ferguson as a traditional striker before he was forced off the field. Fortunately, it seems like that looked a lot worse than it was.
LLOYD KELLY – 6.5. Did well against Matías Soulé on his side, helping keep him without a shot during his time on the pitch. Didn’t make any mistakes at all.
WESTON McKENNIE – 7. Shone in every area of the field. Unlucky not to get that driving header past Mile Svilar but had the presence of mind not only to pounce on the rebound but to quickly realize that Loïs Openda was in a better position to score and poke it to him. Put in some great defensive work as well.
MANUEL LOCATELLI – 7. Registered a joint-team-high five tackles along with two clearances and a blocked shot. He’s fantastic cover for the defense, and his passing ability was incredibly helpful in the attack. Quite unlucky not to have an assist after Yildiz hit the post on that late counter.
KHÉPHREN THURAM – 6. Wasn’t as accurate passing as you’d like, but his physical presence and willingness to carry the ball through the midfield were big pluses. He’s been on the schneid for a bit, but looks to be rounding back into form at the right time.
ANDREA CAMBIASO – 6. One of his better games in recent weeks. His shot in the second half would’ve gone in had it been any other direction than right at Svilar (and even then Svilar barely got hands to it) and his assist to Francisco Conceição was delicious. He made five tackles as well—but his piss-poor marking of Tommaso Baldanzi to allow the attacking midfielder to score on Ferguson’s rebound can’t be ignored, which is why I can’t go higher than a 6.
FRANCISCO CONCEIÇÃO – 7.5. His dribbling is usually his strong suit, but in this match the big thing was how he moved off the ball. He was constantly finding spaces in the box for Yildiz and others to find him in, and he made the most of them, hitting the target with all three of his shots, including his excellent goal on the stroke of halftime. Added a pair of tackles in as well for an all-around performance.
KENAN YILDIZ – 7. Made a pair of key passes as well as the hockey assist on the opening goal. Every time he touched the ball in the attacking third, the crowd started to buzz. Deeply unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself late on after he damn near cracked the post in half.
LOÏS OPENDA – 7. Started slowly but got going once the team started supplying him with the right passes. He’s a nightmare for defenses when he can run into space, and he has a knack for being in the right place to follow up on other teammates’ shots. Made a pair of key passes and two tackles as well. He’s rounding into form at the right time.
SUBS
EDON ZHEGROVA – 6. Like Cambiaso, his contribution to the attack was excellent, but some defensive deficiencies cropped up as his time on the field wore on. The cross he put in that eventually led to Openda’s goal was absolutely gorgeous, the perfect height and weight for McKennie to put a ton of power into his header. But he lost the ball far too easily in the lead-up to Roma’s goal, which drags down his overall score.
DANIELE RUGANI – 6. Did relatively well handling Ferguson up top, but caused a few heart attacks when he badly misplayed a ball in the air and allowed the Irishman to line up a potential equalizer. Fortunately, he couldn’t excecute.
JONATHAN DAVID – NR. Provided some fresh legs up top as the game wore down.
FILIP KOSTIC – NR. Fresh legs and better defense on the left in the game’s closing minutes.
FABIO MIRETTI – NR. Gave Yildiz a rest and provided a little more defense during the game’s final phase.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
A lot of us were interested in seeing what might happen when Luciano Spalletti was able to train the team without a midweek fixture to worry about. The results so far are promising.
I don’t think I’ve seen Juve pass out of a press so well since the Streak was still going. Gasperini’s got one of the most ferocious and effective presses around, and there were times when the Bianconeri were able to work their way out of it with a bunch of one-touch passes. The team was more fluid in attack as well, both on the break and when the Roma defense was a bit more set. He’s definitely figured out the best way to use Openda, and other players like Thuram are starting to pull themselves into decent form.
Spalletti has not only steadied the ship, it looks like he’s gotten the pumps working and the engines moving again. It’s nowhere close to optimal—yet—but for the first time in a bit it actually looks like there’s a steady hand in the captain’s seat. Why that seems to be happening for Spalletti now and not when he was coaching the national team is a question for another time, but Juventini can be happy right now that there seems to finally be someone in the manager’s office that can not only calm things down but get results.
LOOKING AHEAD
Juve get another week’s prep time before they travel to Pisa for their first game with the newly-promoted side since 1991. Then they start the new year with a home game against Lecce and round out the andata with a trip to Sassuolo.
