Juventus is generally not known for being a goalscoring machine. We pride ourselves in having a solid defense and scoring an acceptable number of goals to win games.
But man, was this month different.
Juventus
scored a remarkable 10 goals in four matches, which is an average of 2.5 per game. The problem, however, is the number of goals we conceded in the process: nine goals.
This month perfectly embodied the footballing philosophy that is probably/possibly attributed to the English Premier League, which is that it’s fine if you score a few goals on us because we’ll just score more. The thing is, usually that philosophy is accompanied by victories — which wasn’t quite the case this month for the Bianconeri as they won merely one game all month.
Well, at least one thing is for sure: Juventus is certainly not a boring team.
Raining goals
Juventus treated us to one of the most memorable Derby d’Italia matches in recent history — almost more memorable than that crazy draw last season — after returning from the September international break. Juventus took the lead through none other than the man, the myth, the legend Lloyd Kelly. It was a beautifully-worked goal that involved a great chipped pass from Manuel Locatelli, an acrobatic assist from Gleison Bremer, and a perfectly side-footed finish from Kelly. Inter equalized through a perfect long-distance shot from Hakan Calhanoglu. A few yards on the edge of the box was all he needed to score.
It was a game of extraordinary goals as another Turkish superstar scored less than 10 minutes later. Kenan Yildiz scored through a remarkable low shot from the edge of the box that fizzed past the fingertips of goalkeeper Yann Sommer. From one remarkable goal to yet another one: Calhanoglu equalized for the second time and this one was even better than his first. He picked up a loose ball on the outside right of the box, took a touch, and somehow powered in a truly marvelous volley past Michele Di Gregorio in goal.
Inter took the lead for the first time and significantly changed the momentum of the game. Funny enough, it was the simplest goal of the game: Federico Dimarco took an outswinging corner and Marcus Thuram was completely free to head the ball into goal. From one brother to the next: Khephren Thuram scored an almost identical goal to equalize for the Bianconeri when he headed in a fine freekick cross from Yildiz. But we saved the best, the craziest, and the most dramatic for last. In stoppage time of the second half, Juventus Next Gen graduate Vasilije Adžić received a pass from Jonathan David far from goal, took a look at goal, and simply hammered a thunderbolt of a shot past Sommer. A beautiful end to a rollercoaster match: a 4-3 victory for Juventus!
The next game also had an avalanche of goals. Juventus welcomed Borussia Dortmund to Italy for the first matchday of the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League. The first half ended goalless with only a few noteworthy chances from either side. But the game exploded into life after the break. Karim Adeyemi took a quick touch and drove a hard shot into the bottom corner to give the Germans the lead, but Yildiz scored his second stunning goal in just a few days time with yet another fantastic shot from outside the box that blew into the top corner.
Dortmund regained the lead essentially straight from kickoff when Felix Nmecha curled in a lovely shot from, yes, you guessed it, outside the box. Adeyemi provided the assist. But we had our fourth goal in just 15 minutes when Yildiz drove through the center of the pitch and played a great through ball to Super Sub Vlahovic, who came off the bench to score the equalizer.
The goals just kept on coming. Thuram hesistated too long in possession and lost the ball on the edge of the box. Yan Couto capitalized on this and fired in a powerful shot which surprised Di Gregorio at the near post and went into the back of the net. Ramy Bensebaini then scored from the spot after an unfortunate Kelly handball in the box resulted in a penalty to give the Germans a 4-2 lead with just 5 minutes to go.
But five minutes was all we needed for a miracle.
Vlahovic scored his second goal of the game in the 94th minute after ghosting in front of his defender and poking in a cross from Kalulu. The Serb confirmed his transformational impact from the bench when he gave the crucial assist to Kelly who expertly beat the offside trap and scored with a diving header (not a sentence I thought I would ever write). Final score: 4-4.
Things returned to (relative) normalcy in the next two games. First, Juve tied 1-1 with Hellas Verona in a pretty uneventful game. This wasn’t a surprise given how emotionally intense and demanding the prior two games were. Francisco Conceição scored an excellent solo goal to give the Bianconeri an early lead but Nigerian striker Gift Orban scored a penalty just before half-time when the referee controversially (and, as it turned out, incorrectly) judged that a Joao Mario handball in the box was deliberate. The rest of the game was quite forgettable and the game ended 1-1.
In the final game of the month, we welcomed Atalanta to the Allianz Stadium. Despite creating some good chances in the first half and keeping up the pressure, we found ourselves a goal behind against the run of play after conceding just before half-time. Kamaldeen Sulemana weaved his way through the Juventus defense and scored with a low shot that went into the bottom right corner of the net. Juan Cabal, recently returned from a long-term injury, equalized when he stabbed home a loose ball in the box after chaotic defending from a few Atalanta players. The momentum further swung in Juventus’ favor when Dutch midfielder Marten de Roon then received his second yellow card of the game in the 80th minute.
Weston McKennie came closest to winning the game for the home team but his late volley was straight at Atalanta keeper Marco Carnesecchi. Despite dominating most of the match, the Bianconeri only earn a point from a disappointing 1-1 draw.
Juventus Women
Juventus Women lost their first Serie A Women’s Cup game when they conceded a goal in the 93rd minute against Lazio Women. Noemi Visentin scored the goal in the dying seconds of the game.
The team hit back with a vengeance in the next game, a 4-0 victory over Napoli in a must-win final game of the Serie A Women’s Cup group stage. Emma Stolen Godo scored a header from Chiara Beccari’s cross. Beccari then won the penalty that Cristiana Girelli scored 20 minutes later. Tatiana Pinto then scored a header of her own from Estela Carbonell’s cross and she scored her second goal in the 94th minute of the game thanks to another Carbonell assist.
Juventus reached the final of the Serie A Cup after beating Inter 2-1 at home. Michela Cambiaghi headed in the first goal just before half time after a great freekick delivery by Abi Brighton. In the 64th minute, Girelli executed a beautiful backheel Eva Schatzer, who, from the edge of the box, scored with a great left-footed shot into the top corner. Inter hit back almost immediately through Tessa Wullaert but it wasn’t enough to prevent defeat for the visitors: 2-1 for the Bianconere!
The Bianconere played, and defeated, Roma in the final game of the month, which also happened to be the final of the Serie A Cup. Amalie Vangsgaard scored from close range early in the game but Emilie Haavi equalized with a great shot in the top corner. Bonansea produced a beautiful piece of individual skill to put her team in the lead again but Roma equalized 10 minutes later through a Manuela Giugliano header. Just when it seemed like the game was going to extra time, Lindsey Thomas scored the winner for Juventus. Goalkeeper Olivie Lukasova saved Emma Kullberg’s header from the corner but Thomas was alert to poke in the rebound and win the game for her team: 3-2!
Shooting star
There is one constant variable amidst the goal-scoring flurry that Juventus experienced this month: Kenan Yildiz.
Many of us predicted that this would be his breakout, superstar season, but I don’t think we expected to see him play so well so early in the new campaign. If you consider the Club World Cup to be part of “this” season, then Yildiz has already scored reached double-digit goal contributions, with five goals and six assists in 11 appearances. That means that, on average, he has a goal contribution for every appearance he has made this season.
However, there is a dark side to his early glory. Namely, he has already accumulated almost 900 minutes of playing time before the month of October, essentially playing every minute of every game of the season so far. We’re already seeing another teenage superstar, Lamine Yamal of Barcelona, sustain injuries at such a young age likely because he too is being overplayed and overburdened while his body is still developing.
Juventus are playing in three competitions this season and it’s a World Cup year, with Turkiye expected to qualify for next summer’s competition. If he continues at the current rate, and if Juventus makes it reasonably far in the Champions League and Coppa Italia, that means that Yildiz could potentially play over 50 games in 12 months.
Another problem is that it seems like Juventus are already becoming over-reliant on Yildiz in attack. It’s unlikely that the spectacular super-sub effect of Vlahovic will last much longer, although I think the Serb will still be a useful player for the team. But when we look at which players will provide creativity from midfield into attack, I only see Yildiz and Conceição as the two players who can make something happen for others in attack. Once we inevitably cause Yildiz to burnout, all eyes will be on the microscopically small Portuguese winger who, admittedly, has played well so far this season in his quasi-winger, quasi-central attacker position.
Speaking of positions, this is one other topic where Yildiz deserves even more praise for his remarkable maturity and tactical flexibility at such a young age. I was worried that he would be wasted on the wing and that his talents were better suited as a purely central attacking player.
But somehow the Turkish youngster has managed to be just as good playing in the inside-left channel of attack — not quite playing all the way out wide all the time as a traditional winger would do — as he is in a purely central role. He is the best dribbler in the team and is deceptively strong on the ball, which shows that he has probably spent a lot of time at the gym working on his physique.
The sky is the limit for Yildiz. But his body is also a limiting factor and can handle only so much. Just like in the case of Yamal, I hope that the supporting staff around these young players protect not only their minds, but also their bodies from the ruthless demands of professional football.
