This was the kind of game that we had been hoping to avoid as the new season came around. The kind of thing we’ve seen for years — Juventus letting an inferior team hang around until the end stages of a game they ought to have put away long ago — was once again playing out in Juve’s opening match of the year against Frosinone.
Fortunately, the Bianconeri didn’t end up paying for their profligacy in front of goal this time. The defense, led by a resurgent Gleison Bremer that looked very much like the pre-injury
version of the center-back, held on, and had fortune on their side in stoppage time when Gabriele Calvini headed a corner kick onto the crossbar three minutes into stoppage time. The season’s first game finished at 1-0 thanks to a 22nd-minute header by Bremer himself, giving Juve their first three points of the year.
While poor finishing was once again an unwelcome hallmark of Juventus’ play, the fact that Juve were in a position where they should have put the game away well before the final whistle — frankly, before the halftime whistle — is a sign that, should they straighten out their finishing, they could be a competitive side this year. That said, the finishing needs to straighten out, and fast.
So, how did everyone do in the first match of the season? Let’s take a closer look.
GIUGLIELMO VICARIO – 6. Vicario is somewhat fortunate to receive this passing grade. Had Giorgi Kvernadze not pulled the rebound he so graciously gifted to him with five minutes left int he first half, this could’ve been a very different game. The one save he had to make in the second half was good enough, though, and ultimately he pulls through with a 6, although he still has a ways to go to prove that last year’s God-awful season at Tottenham was a fluke.
PIERRE KALULU – 7.5. A typically excellent showing by Kalulu as he begins his third season in black and white. He was desperately unlucky not to score late in the first half when Lorenzo Palmisani got the barest of fingertips to a rocket shot to divert it onto the post. Incredibly strong defensively, with three tackles, two interceptions, and five clearances. It’s still amazing that AC Milan let us fleece them over him.
BREMER – 8.5. I’ve been lucky in life to have kept all of my bones and sinews intact, but I’m told by friends who have suffered a torn ACL that it isn’t until close to the two-year mark after the injury that you truly feel the stability return to your knee. Bremer is a little less than two months shy of that mark, and boy does he look different than he did when he returned last year. He seemed more confident in his body today than he did at any point after his return last season, and it showed in everything he did. His goal was perfectly taken, and not enough is going to be said about the run he made to get into position, which was picture perfect and completely eliminated the defense from the equation. Defensively he was the rock we’ve gotten used to seeing, registering two tackles and eight clearances. He even tied for the team lead in key passes with three. I don’t think it’s overstating it to say that he’s the main reason why the defense didn’t break under the pressure of holding a 1-0 lead as it has so often in the recent past.
LLOYD KELLY – 6. Didn’t put up a ton of stats but stayed composed next to Bremer and didn’t make any mistakes, save for one awful giveaway early in the second half that ultimately came to nothing.
ZEKI ÇELIK – 6. Made two interceptions and two clearances and was a promising presence in the attack. I didn’t particularly agree with his yellow card, and he came off to protect him from it.
MANUEL LOCATELLI – 6. Typical defensive excellence in the double pivot, posting a frankly incredible six interceptions along with five clearances. This would’ve been higher if his pass completion had been higher than 83.6 percent.
DOUGLAS LUIZ – 6.5. Ran at Weston McKennie levels, covering a huge amount of ground before coming off with about 10 minutes to go. He led the starting XI in pass completion at 93.3 percent, had a pair of key passes, and was involved in both of the short corners that produced excellent shots for Bremer. Had a direct free kick fly just over the top as well.
FRANCISCO CONCEIÇÃO – 6.5. Delivered a beautiful assist for Bremer’s goal and came a whisker away from a goal with a remarkable shot midway through the second half. Racked up four dribbles and a pair of key passes as well. Still could’ve produced even more end product, but overall a solid first day out.
WESTON McKENNIE – 5.5. Not the most productive of days in the trequartista spot for the US international. Clearly he’s still developing chemistry with Kolo Muani, which isn’t a surprise given the Frenchman’s only been around three weeks, and McKennie wasn’t playing this role when he was last in Turin.
KENAN YILDIZ – 5.5. It’s a testament to how good he is that he had a quite lackluster game and still co-led the team in key passes. Had a golden opportunity to score a second off of Kalulu’s rebound but hit it too far central.
RANDAL KOLO MUANI – 5. Absolutely had to score that four-yard sitter he had in the 19th minute, but got overanxious and didn’t let the ball fall enough. He didn’t look sharp, which is understandable considering he only got to the team three weeks ago and before that was training with PSG’s under-19s. He deserves some leeway to get back into full form.
SUBS
JÉRÉMIE BOGA – 6. Caused some issues on the left and completed all of his passes.
EDON ZHEGROVA – 6. Had a pair of key passes over his 22 minutes.
ANDREA CAMBIASO – 6. Didn’t make any big defensive errors as Juve held onto the lead, and completed 92.3 percent of his passes.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS – NR. Almost served one to Kolo Muani shortly after he came on but hit it a little too hard.
MATTIA PERIN – NR. Quick to snag the rebound after Calvini hit the bar, and wasn’t tested after that.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
I grew less and less pleased about Luciano Spalletti’s in-game management — particularly the timing of his substitutions — as the ‘25-26 season went on, and I wasn’t given much reason to change my mind about that on Sunday. It was clear early in the half that Juventus was losing energy, but Spalletti kept his subs in his pocket until the 68th minute. By that point, Frosinone manager Massimiliano Alvini had already made four changes over two windows. Particularly, I was eager to see Kerim Alajbegovic, who I thought would bring something to the game that Frosinone’s defense hadn’t seen to that point.
Spalletti finally did go to his bench with just over 20 minutes to go, and it seemed to at least stabilize things a bit, but Alajbegovic stayed on the bench and Kolo Muani, who was definitely a candidate to come off, stayed on the full 90. It was a surprising choice on both counts. The fact that he had one substitution left as stoppage time began to put Perin on for a cramping Vicario was serendipitous, but had he been more aggressive with his changes the game could’ve been put away by that point.
There wasn’t much in the way of new players out there beyond Vicario, Çelik, and Kolo Muani, and one of the keys to this early part of the season will be how new faces like Alajbegovic and Jhon Lucumí are integrated into the squad. That’s especially true of a guy like Alajbegovic, who at 19 will have to overcome Serie A’s pathological aversion to giving young players minutes regardless of their quality. Spalletti is going to have to resist that old conservatism if he wants to breathe life into a team that desperately needs that kind of talent.
LOOKING AHEAD
Juve come back to Turin for their home opener against Parma on Saturday, then stay home to host AC Milan on Matchday 3.
