It’s been a frustrating week for Juventus. Both of their matches, on Thursday against Atalanta and on Sunday against Lazio, saw them perform better than their opponents and yet fail to get the win either
time. Thursday saw them eliminated from the Coppa Italia 3-0, and minutes into the second half on Sunday they found themselves down 2-0 after a pair of defensive errors despite completely dominating the match to that point. They had seen one goal chalked off for offside, been flat-out jobbed out of a penalty, and seen Ivan Provodel hulk up to make some key saves.
It would be easy for the Bianconeri to have folded under that series of unfortunate events, but instead they again showed off their improved mindset, never letting up and eventually tying the game up 2-2 in the dying seconds of stoppage time. It was, ultimately, a disappointing result given the way the game played out, but obviously much better than a loss and a continuing display of Juve’s improved mindset under Luciano Spalletti.
Who showed up the biggest against the Biancocelesti, and who needed to improve? Let’s take a closer look.
MICHELE DI GREGORIO – 5.5. Could maybe have done better on Gustav Isaksen’s goal, but was also left out to dry by mistakes and/or bad defending on both of them.
PIERRE KALULU – 8. Apart from his dramatic equalizer, he racked up some impressive numbers. He made four key passes (which, incredibly, was only third on the team) and completed 92.1 percent of his passes, including three of four long balls and three out of seven crosses. He had a pair of tackles, including one last-man tackle late to prevent Lazio from icing the game. An absolute star.
BREMER – 6. Had the highest pass completion of anyone in the starting XI, and helped to shut down the odd counter with a pair of tackles and an interception, as well as a blocked shot. Was denied a third goal in two games by a fantastic save from Provodel, and headed another one narrowly off target.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS – 6. Led the team with 101 touches and 87 pass attempts, completing 90.8 percent of them. Had a pair of key passes and was so unlucky to have his goal chalked off for a passive offside, as well as pulling another great shot just wide.
ANDREA CAMBIASO – 5.5. His numbers tell one story—six tackles, five key passes, the assist on Weston McKennie’s goal—but his attempt at defending on Isaksen’s goal was pitiful. He’s lucky there isn’t a ton of natural competition for his spot.
MANUEL LOCATELLI – 5.5. Played pretty darn well for the majority of the game, making three tackles and three key passes, as well as barely missing a shot that could’ve tied the game only a few minutes after Juve scored their first. But his lapse at the end of the first half that led to Pedro’s opener also looms large.
KHÉPHREN THURAM – 5. Had a pair of key passes but also got in the way of a shooter a few times, and he looked tired.
JUAN CABAL – 5.5. Didn’t have a ton of contributions offensively but racked up two tackles and two interceptions before being pulled for offense at halftime.
WESTON McKENNIE – 6. Had a rough first half but rebounded in the second. Excellent header to score the first goal, and he was a constant danger in the box, combining well with Jonathan David.
KENAN YILDIZ – 6.5. On another day he would’ve had two or three goals, but Provodel was the bane of his existence, making three stellar saves to keep the newly-extended No. 10 out of the net. He also provided six (!!) key passes and made four dribbles.
JONATHAN DAVID – 6. Did a lot of dirty work in linkup play, which led to him not being as big a factor on the final ball. Still, he was an important part of the buildup.
SUBS
EDON ZHEGROVA – 6.5. Made four key passes, and it was his shot that produced the rebound that ultimately led to Juve getting on the board. All the more impressive considering he wasn’t going to go on but Francisco Conceição tweaked his knee while warming up at halftime.
JÉRÉMIE BOGA – NR. Sent in the cross that Kalulu buried for the equalizer, and nearly helped win the game when he found Loïs Openda less than two minutes later. He’s looking like a quality January addition.
LLOYD KELLY – NR. Inserted to keep the back a little stronger as Spalletti pushed the team forward.
LOÏS OPENDA – NR. Wasted two chances at winning the damn thing in the last 30 seconds of the game.
FABIO MIRETTI – NR. Helped set up the equalizer with a switch to Boga, and had a key pass, a dribble, and two shots in only seven minutes plus stoppages.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
Spalletti didn’t do much wrong in this game. One could perhaps argue that he could’ve brought on guys like Boga earlier, but Juve were playing very well going forward from the beginning of the match, so the need to throw on even more firepower only started becoming really necessary as full time approached and desperation started.
I’ve said before that I’ve been deeply impressed with the mental shift this team has undergone under Spalletti, and that continues to be true. The double-whammy of Lazio goals on either side of halftime would have utterly leveled the Juventus teams of past seasons, and even of the early parts of this one. But even at 2-0 down the team never wavered and continued to press to get back into the game.
This team has become mentally stronger, and I think a big part of that is that they’ve become far more proactive as opposed to reactive, constantly pushing to win the ball back immediately and send it back at the opposing goal. That’s one of the biggest things Spalletti has instilled in this roster in such a short amount of time.
LOOKING AHEAD
Juve have a solid run of huge matches coming up, starting on Saturday with the return match of the Derby d’Italia at San Siro. Then Juve head to Istanbul to try to purge the ghosts of 2013 against Galatasaray, then come home for games against Como (hoping to avenge their earlier away loss) and the second leg against Galatasaray. Then comes a fourth-place showdown at the Stadio Olimpico against Roma.
