It took some time and a whole lot of blood pressure medication for the fan base, but Juventus pulled themselves together after another hideous first half to beat Cyprian Cinderellas Pafos 2-0 on Wednesday night at the J Stadium.
There were lots of ups and downs between the first and second half, some swings far larger than others. We saw a largely ineffective full debut from Edon Zhegrova—understandable given his gradual reintroduction to game time—and Fabio Miretti failed to impress in a big start
in midfield. But Kenan Yildiz did his part once again, and Jonathan David, despite an early miss, was on target in crunch time to seal the game.
How did each player do for the Bianconeri on Wednesday? Let’s look:
MICHELE DI GREGORIO – 6.5. Made two huge saves to keep Pafos from going in front in the first half, which would have changed the tenor of the game completely. Dealt with crosses relatively well, but he gets docked half a point for that heart-stopping moment with minutes to go when he was nearly charged down in the box by Mons Bassouamina and was only really bailed out by the fact he was fouled.
PIERRE KALULU – 6.5. Didn’t have as much to do because Pafos tended to attack through the left, but was mistake-free and added a key pass in as well, continuing to play that Bastoni-like role coming up from the back three.
LLOYD KELLY – 6. Solid as well, and isn’t to be blamed for the near-own goal, he was clearing the ball like he was supposed to and Cambiaso was in the way. Should’ve been more accurate on a header from a corner.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS – 5.5. If this grade was just for the first half it would be closer to a 4, but he did well when Spalletti moved him further up the field in the second half. He co-led the team with four tackles, had two key passes. The missed sitter in the first half was deeply frustrating, but he forced Neofytos Michael into a great save after the break. The question becomes with Bremer and Daniele Rugani now back in the squad, where’s he going to go?
WESTON McKENNIE – 7. This was a big game for Wes. Obviously the highlight of the day was the goal, which was the kind of audacious finish that he’s been known to pull out of his hat from time to time. But he had three key passes, completed 93.8 percent of his passes overall—which for him is a really impressive number—and worked hard without the ball. It was his challenge that sprang the counterattack that sealed the game.
MANUEL LOCATELLI – 6. Led the team with four tackles—several of them the excellent slide tackles that are becoming something of a trademark. His booking for such an attempt midway through the second half was laughable, as he won the ball cleanly before David Luiz did some of his usual playacting. He also had two key passes, but he also needs to pick up the tempo of the team’s game when they’re in the final third, although that isn’t all his fault because for most of the first half none of his players were moving off the ball to try to pass the ball quickly to.
FABIO MIRETTI – 5. Bit of a flop for Miretti in his first major test in the starting XI. He did make three key passes, but none of his three shots were remotely close to the target, and he gave the ball away repeatedly. The worst was the first-half free kick that he basically passed to someone in Pafos’ wall. Now, the merits of a trick play there are debatable, but you still have to execute. Hope this doesn’t hurt his standing with Spalletti.
ANDREA CAMBIASO – 6. His assist for McKennie was tricker than it looked, as he had to find a lane through a ton of bodies. Finished with two key passes, two dribbles, and a pair of tackles as well. Still got burned a few times on his flank, though. He wasn’t at his high-level peak from two years ago, but this was a step up from some of the slop he’s been putting up lately.
EDON ZHEGROVA – 5. Ring rust for the Kosovar, most likely. Given his long recovery and lack of minutes, I’m inclined to guess that taking him off at halftime was a planned maneuver as opposed to a reaction to his play—which was getting better. He grew into the game as the first half went on and had a shot deflected away by a defender later on.
KENAN YILDIZ – 6.5. Had four key passes including the inch-perfect assist on Jonathan David’s goal and finished the evening with four key passes and three dribbles—the leader and co-leader in those respective categories. Also had a shot well saved by Michael early in the first half, but seeing him contributing even without scoring is almost as good a sign as him actually putting goals in.
JONATHAN DAVID – 6. Will get a lot of stick for that missed chance just before halftime. I know he had his back to goal when he received the ball, but it was still in a spot that a striker with his track record is expected to score. He made up for it later on though, cooly beating Michael to end the breakaway. We’d seen him miss one or two of those the last few months, so perhaps he’s gaining some confidence—which would be a fantastic, because the Lille version of him is something Juve desperately needs right now.
SUBS
FRANCISCO CONCEIÇÃO – 6. Got a little more push going than Zhegrova and was a little more dynamic on and off the ball. Three successful dribbles and he very nearly stuffed the ball in at Michael’s near post not long before McKennie scored.
LOÏS OPENDA – 6. The last couple of Openda’s games have been weird, coming off the bench but hardly ever seeing the ball come his way. He had only six touches in half an hour, but he made the most of them. His only pass of the game was a key pass, and he had two shots, one of which could have been quite dangerous indeed had his defender not thrown himself down to block it at the last second.
KHÉPHREN THURAM – 6. Completed all of his passes and bulked up the midfield well as Juve looked to see the game out.
VASILIJE ADZIC – 5. Lost the ball a bunch and made a mess of a nice position in the box, taking way too many touches and getting herded to the byline as opposed to simply letting fly. That worked against Inter, Vasilije!
JUAN CABAL – NR. On to see things out at the end. I wonder if this might have been Bremer if it was 1-0 instead of 2-0 by that stage of the game.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
You can’t chalk up Juve’s first half crappiness to Spalletti this time. He didn’t make any tactical missteps, and I wouldn’t put much blame on him for the lineup changes he did make that didn’t quite work out. Miretti had warranted a start with his form since his return from injury, and seeing what Zhegrova could do with more than just a couple of minutes at the end of a game was important. Neither player was particularly good on this night, but should continue to get opportunities. Spalletti’s sub usage was better today as well, bringing on Openda early to force the action with his attackers while simultaneously covering Locatelli’s booking.
If I were Spalletti, if I were to focus on one thing in training between now and the game in Bologna on Sunday is to get guys to FREAKING MOVE IN THE FINAL THIRD WHEN THEY DON’T HAVE THE BALL!!!!
Seriously, this has been a pet peeve of mine with this club for quite a while. So much of the attacking Juve did do in the first half consisted of someone like Locatelli playing the ball and searching for something to do with it while everyone in front of him basically stood there like that kid in The Incredibles. You know the one:
One of the knocks on Locatelli from his detractors is that most of his passes are lateral or backward. Well, duh, if no one is moving to create any kind of crease or void in the defense, you’re not gonna just hoof the ball into a covered passing lane! He and everyone else looking to try to create kinda need someone to make themselves a target in order to actually do the creative thing.
The team was better about this in the second half but still not great. In the last few years Juve’s been best at this during the better periods of Thiago Motta’s reign, and Spalletti has to bring it up to snuff if he wants this team to do anything other than flail against a low block for all eternity.
LOOKING AHEAD
Juve’s tripleheader of big Serie A matches continues on Sunday with a trip to Bologna. Then, an incredible thing happens: there’s a whole week between games! That next game being Saturday (ok so six days but still not to have anything midweek is so rare these days) against Roma at home. In fact, Juve’s next two matches after that (at Pisa, vs. Lecce) all have a week in between. There’s no telling what a little rest and some actual time for Spalletti to buckle down and to some installing will do for the club as the calendar turns round.
