An unsatisfying end to play before the international break saw Juve drop points to another relegation battler.
There will be a time, somewhere in the future, that Juventus will once again come to the stadium of a team at the bottom of the table and arrive with the conviction that the result will be a victory.
Until then, we all have to live through this slop.
After a week that saw them win two games on the trot and play some of their better football — albeit not necessarily all of the time — Juve arrived
at the Stadio Artemio Franchi looking to push Fiorentina back into the early-season relegation scrap and consolidate their momentum going into the November international break.
Alas, a game in Florence is never straightforward regardless of how bad the Viola are, and two complete breakdowns in defending, one in each half, saw the home team put the ball past Guglielmo Vicario. Fortunately, Juve responded in both instances with relative alacrity, equalizing through Nick Woltemade and Gleison Bremer. The final phases of the game got a little wild, with Juve being denied even a token review of a clear handball in the box by Joao Mario and Fiorentina thinking they’d taken the lead for a third time only to have the goal immediately disallowed for a foul. Vicario needed a couple of saves in stoppage time to see out the 2-2 draw.
While not a defeat — we’ve seen too many of those this year already — it was still a disappointing end to a month of play that saw Juve play nine times while still working on a shoestring depth chart. With a few weeks to recharge for the run into the festive period, the Bianconeri aren’t in the worst shape they’ve ever been, there’s still a desperate need to raise the level of play if they want to close the six-point gap with fourth-place AC Milan and climb back into the top four.
That being said, how did everyone play on Sunday at the Franchi? Let’s take a closer look.
GUGLIELMO VICARIO – 6. Made a couple of very good saves late and had no culpability at all on the first goal — anyone want to mark the other team’s main striker on this corner? Bueller? Bueller? — but could maybe have done a little better with the cross that he pushed into danger on the second. That said, I’m not dinging him too much because he didn’t exactly get much help on that goal, either before the cross came in or after.
PIERRE KALULU – 6. Blocked a pair of shots and made three clearances. None of Fiorentina’s most dangerous moments came from his side of the field. Unfortunately, he’s joined the M*A*S*H* unit in the trainer’s room.
BREMER – 6. Played well enough in the defensive phase, racking up a pair of tackles and three clearances. His header ultimately got Juve their point, but I’m dinging him ever so slightly over the general malaise that affected the defense on Fiorentina’s second goal.
JHON LUCUMI – 5. Easily his worst day as a Juve player. His defensive numbers were secondary to the fact that he was nowhere to be found when Mateo Pellegrino scored in the fourth minute – Woltemade was also in the general area but it’s Lucumi’s job to at least communicate with him. That wasn’t the only problem moment from him either. He slipped and gifted the ball to Franco Mastantuono in the dying stages of the first half that could’ve cost Juve dearly, but the Argentine couldn’t get a good shot away. Overall improvement from him is needed.
JUAN CABAL – 6. Forced David de Gea into a pair of really good saves during the later stages of the first half, a period when Juve were solidly on the front foot. His defense was OK enough, although one wonders where he was on the initial cross for Fiorentina’s second goal — which may have been why he was pulled for Zeki Celik so soon after.
WESTON McKENNIE – 5. Looked a little off the pace in his first game back from a minor injury. He completed only 70.6 percent of his passes and didn’t hit a single one of his six crosses. Given his quality, this was likely a rust/recover issue. Going out to international duty might be beneficial here, to knock off the rest of the rust before he comes back.
DOUGLAS LUIZ – 6. Completed 96.4 percent of his passes, but it didn’t feel like they were really GOING anywhere most of the time. He gets a passing grade due to his assist, but overall this wasn’t his best day.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS – 7. Tied for the team lead with four key passes and just missed scoring off a rebound in the first half. He had a pair of tackles as well and was in general as sound as could be in midfield. Consistent playing time in the double pivot has seen his form tick up.
JEREMIE BOGA – 6. Co-led the team in dribbles with four and had three key passes as well. He also drew four fouls from the Fiorentina defense in only about 56 minutes of play. Lacked end product, but was ultimately quite effective.
RANDAL KOLO MUANI – 7. Spalletti’s decision to free him up out on the right side has done him wonders. He’s now made two assists in two games, both from excellent runs along the right wing. He made four key passes overall and four dribbles as well. He still had his fair share of unsuccessful touches, but overall he’s showing the confidence to take on defenders and is providing an end product.
NICK WOLTEMADE – 6.5. Finished Kolo Muani’s excellent move with his first Serie A goal, and forced an excellent kick-save from de Gea a few minutes later. He’s holding the ball up well and using the runs of his teammates to set up more attacks. If he starts finishing on the regular, it will go a long way to solving Juve’s current attacking issues.
SUBS
ZEKI CELIK – 5.5. Had one key pass and interplayed well with Alajbegovic on the left side, and racked up three tackles in only 35 minutes of game time, but only completed 72.2 percent of his total passes. Probably another rust situation that will likely soon be resolved.
EDON ZHEGROVA – 5. Made one key pass but really didn’t have a ton of effect on the game. Felt like he was losing the ball far more than he was contributing to the attack.
KERIM ALAJBEGOVIC – 6. Forced a save with his only shot and tallied a pair of dribbles off the bench. His willingness to take on his man put a few Fiorentina defenders on their heels.
JEFF EKHATOR – NR. Should’ve put his lone shot on target, but he only touched the ball four times beyond that, so it wasn’t like he was getting fed.
FEDERICO GATTI – NR. On late to perhaps reprise his late-game heroics against AC Milan, had little time to do anything on either side of the ball.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
If the last two games are any indication, Luciano Spalletti may have solved one of his biggest attacking headaches.
Because neither Kolo Muani nor Woltemade are traditional No. 9s, the two men have been a mixed bag when played as a pair. At times they combined well, but at others Kolo Muani’s attempts to roam and use his speed have clashed with Woltemade’s inclination to play as a 6-foot-7 seconda punta. But against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday and again on Sunday, it’s become clear that they’ve been given more specific instructions on how to play off each other.
On Sunday the team sat in a 4-4-2 while out of possession, then transitioned into more of a trident when on the attack, with Kolo Muani flexing out to the right wing while Woltemade stayed central in a more traditional striker’s role. This has had several positive effects on the attack. Kolo Muani has been able to use his pace and take on defenders while being far more confident that someone is going to be there to receive any crosses he sends. Woltemade’s new positioning has allowed him to use his holdup play and distribution — strengths of his game that were immediately apparent upon his arrival — in areas closer to the goal, which has brought players like Koopmeiners down closer to the box to more regularly join in the attack.
If this becomes a permanent feature, it could go a long way toward opening up Juve’s attack a bit more while they wait for the likes of Kenan Yildiz and Nico Gonzalez to return from their respective injuries. Koopmeiners was in more attacking positions in and around the box than I remember seeing him in months, and he had a well-taken goal on Thursday and a near miss on Sunday. Juve were creating more chances in the box, especially in the late stages of the first half, than I remember seeing in weeks. Kolo Muani is looking the best he’s been since his return, Woltemade was clinical on his goal and very nearly had a second but for a good kick-save by de Gea, and the midfield is finally joining in on the action. For the time being, while this is who Spalletti has available, this looks like the best way to set up the attack.
What needs his attention now are these massive brain farts that have been killing the team for what seems like the entire year. Statistically, Juve are the fourth-best defense in Serie A — only Lazio, Como, and Roma have allowed fewer goals. That points to a strong overall unit that continually lets itself down with lapses of concentration. Lapses like epic fail of marking on Pellegrino’s opening goal, when an entire team failed to pick up the opponent’s starting striker and presented him with a free header the likes of which most forwards only dream about. Or the lack of challenge on the cross for the second, combined with what seemed like half the defense looking at the ball and waiting for someone else to deal with it after Vicario made the initial deflection.
These brain freezes are the definition of a coaching issue, and Spalletti addressed them in his post-match press conference. But he needs to take the time to finally knock this crap out of his players’ heads. If they eliminate such elementary mistakes and continue to improve in the attack with the newfound clarity between the strikers, Juve might actually be able to pick up some momentum when club play resumes.
LOOKING AHEAD
The international break will last until Nov. 22 for the Bianconeri, when they return to face Venezia at home in a Sunday lunchtime kickoff. A Europa League matchup follows against Omonia Nicosia.
