JUVENTUS SEASON 2023-2024

[Socrates 7971]

From Chiesa to Danilo: Allegri facing several headaches ahead of Lazio clash

 

 

This weekend, Juventus will be facing their toughest test of the season thus far as they host Lazio at the Allianz Stadium.

 

The Bianconeri collected seven points from their first three fixtures, but are yet to face a fellow top side.

 

Unfortunately for Max Allegri, he finds himself facing several dilemmas, mostly due to the ongoing international break.

 

As we all know by now, Paul Pogba won’t be present after testing positive for testosterone. The Frenchman is now on a precautionary suspension awaiting further investigation. ........

 

Federico Chiesa sustained a slight knock while training with Italy, prompting his premature return to Turin. Luckily, test results ruled out an injury, but the Italian will likely start on the bench, forcing a change in the attacking pair.

 

Moreover, Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah and Danilo will only return late from international duty. They will hardly have 48 hours to recover from the long trip and prepare for Saturday’s encounter. .........

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/from-chiesa-to-danilo-allegri-facing-several-headaches-ahead-of-lazio-clash/

[Socrates 7971]

Juventus receives double injury boost ahead of Lazio game

 

 

Juventus has received a significant double boost in terms of player fitness, as both Federico Chiesa and Federico Gatti have returned to training and may be available for their upcoming game against Lazio.

 

Concerns arose when Chiesa returned prematurely from the Italy national team camp, initially raising fears of a more serious injury. However, it has since been confirmed that his injury was minor, and he has resumed training.

 

Similarly, Gatti, who was also dealing with an injury before the international break, is now fit and has been participating in the latest training sessions.

 

For the crucial match against Lazio, Juventus will undoubtedly benefit from having all their key players available. Given Chiesa’s impressive start to the season, it is highly likely that he will feature prominently if he is deemed fit to play. .......

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/juventus-receives-double-injury-boost-ahead-of-lazio-game/

[Socrates 7971]

Sports journalist predicts Juventus-Lazio match

 

 

Journalist Furio Focolari, like many others, finds it challenging to predict the outcome of the upcoming match between Juventus and Lazio this weekend.

 

The Bianconeri are set to face one of the toughest teams in Serie A when they take on Lazio, and both sides are expected to face a difficult challenge.

 

While Juventus has had a more favorable start to the season and remains unbeaten, Lazio’s recent victory against Napoli has boosted their confidence, and they may believe they can replicate that success against Juventus. .......

 

“Juve have been playing badly for two years but already last season they played their best match against Lazio as if Allegri gets excited when he faces the Capitoline team.

 

“At the Stadium they will need the Lazio seen in the second half against Napoli if they want to try to bring the three points to Rome, but Lazio is also the one seen in the first two days and playing in which way defeat would be certain. I can’t make a prediction, but given that both teams have the potential to do badly, perhaps a draw would satisfy both .” .........

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/sports-journalist-predicts-juventus-lazio-match/

[Socrates 7971]

Juventus vs Lazio 3-1: Dominant Bianconeri Win Over Biancocelesti

 

 

Juventus put in a fantastic performance on Saturday as they comfortably despatched Lazio with a 3-1 triumph at Allianz Stadium in the first Serie A match of Round 4.

 

Dusan Vlahovic starred in this one and deservedly put Juventus in front after firing the ball past Ivan Provedel after just ten minutes of play. Lazio started to slightly get back into the match but the Old Lady fired back soon after as Federico Chiesa put them two goals ahead.

 

The Bianconeri looked in complete control but an error at the back by Bremer allowed Lazio back in the match as Luis Alberto made it 2-1. Nonetheless, the hosts hit back just a few minutes later to restore their two-goal lead after some magnificent play between Weston McKennie and Vlahovic. ........

 

Read more -> https://cultofcalcio.com/juventus-vs-lazio-3-1-dominant-bianconeri-win-over-biancocelesti/

[Socrates 7971]

Vlahovic brace powers convincing Juventus past Lazio

 

 

At the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Juventus produced a commanding display at the expense of Lazio. The home side prevailed with the final score showing 3-1, though it could have easily been a bigger result.

 

Max Allegri started with a 3-5-2 formation spearheaded by Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa. Weston McKennie and Filip Kostic took the wings, while Manuel Locatelli operated as a Regista in between Adrien Rabiot and Fabio Miretti.

 

The Bianconeri were the better side from the get-go, harrying their visitors with a flurry of attacks.

 

After ten minutes, Vlahovic put the Old Lady in the lead with a clinical finish. McKennie managed to keep the ball in play while the Lazio players claimed it went out of bound. Nevertheless, Locatelli picked up the Serbian with an exquisite cross. The latter beat his marker to the ball and put it past Ivan Provedel with a first-time shot. .......

 

Afterwards, it was the hosts who struck again. Locatelli found McKennie with a diagonal ball across the pitch. The American’s run caused havoc in the box. Adrien Rabiot ran with it before leaving the shot to Chiesa who beat the Lazio goalkeeper at his near post.

 

 

After the interval, it was more pf the same with Juventus coming extremely close to adding a third, but Adrien Rabiot’s close-range header was too weak to trouble Provedel.

 

Instead, it was Lazio who pulled one back, with Luis Alberto pouncing on a poor pass from Gleison Bremer. The Spaniard’s fabulous curler landed in the far corner, leaving Szczesny with no chance.

 

But just when the capital side was aiming for an equalizer, McKennie picked up a run from Vlahovic with a magnificent long ball. The bomber brought the ball down, warded off the challenge of his markers and found the bottom corner with his weak foot, thus restoring the Old Lady’s two-goal lead. .......

 

Final Result: Juventus 3-1 Lazio

Scorers: Vlahovic 10′, 68′ (J), Chiesa 26′ (J), Luis Alberto 65′ (L)

Juventus (3-5-2): Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; McKennie (Weah), Miretti, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic (Cambiaso); Chiesa (Milik), Vlahovic (Kean)

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/vlahovic-brace-powers-convincing-juventus-past-lazio/

[Socrates 7971]

Juventus Player Ratings vs Lazio: Vlahovic Back To His Best

 

 

Here are our Juventus ratings vs Lazio as they recorded a richly-deserved 3-1 triumph at home to the Biancocelesti. The Bianconeri were superb here and got off to a great start, with Massimiliano Allegri’s side showing good intensity from the off. Goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa put Juventus two goals up after just a quarter of the game.

 

 

Juventus: (3-5-2)

Wojciech Szczesny – 6.5

Tipped the ball over the bar after a decent effort by Daichi Kamada in the first half. Didn’t have much to do here throughout and couldn’t do much to stop Alberto’s goal.

Federico Gatti – 7

.......

 

Bremer – 6.5

Gave the ball away cheaply for Alberto’s goal with a hospital pass, allowing Lazio back into the game. Won a couple of tackles and looked fairly solid overall.

Danilo – 7

........

 

Weston McKennie – 8

Deployed over on the right-hand side as a wing-back and showed some nice work down the flank in the build up to Vlahovic’s first goal. Was involved in the second and third goals too. Played a fantastic long ball into Vlahovic as the Old Lady restored their two-goal lead. Excellent display.

Fabio Miretti – 6.5

.........

 

Manuel Locatelli – 8

Supplied a superb first-time cross into Vlahovic for the opening goal. Influential in Chiesa’s goal too. Effective playing in the centre of the midfield three and played some fantastic balls forward. Made Juve tick.

Adrien Rabiot – 7.5

Assisted Chiesa’s goal with a simple layoff. Came close to finding a goal himself but his close range header was denied by Provedel. Worked hard in the midfield.

Filip Kostic – 6.5

.........

 

Dusan Vlahovic – 9

Opened the scoring with a wonderful finish, wrapping his foot around the ball to fire it past Provedel. Superb finish by the Serbia international. Looked on good form and held the ball up well, particularly for Juve’s third. Another incredible finish for his second too. Back to his best.

Federico Chiesa – 7.5

Looked sharp and showed good intensity from the start. Put Juventus two up midway through the first half with a weaker left-footed strike at the near post.

Substitutions

Andrea Cambiasso – N/A

Nicolo Fagioli – 6.5

Timothy Weah – N/A

Arkadiusz Milik – N/A

Moise Kean – N/A

Read more -> https://cultofcalcio.com/juventus-player-ratings-vs-lazio-vlahovic-back-to-his-best/

[Socrates 7971]

Juventus 3 - Lazio 1: Initial reaction and random observations

That was a fun little Saturday, my friends.

 

 

 

It was Wednesday or Thursday that I remembered at what time in Italy that Juventus’ showdown against Lazio kicked off. Because the last few years of Juve watching has been tough, you could probably understand why my first thought was “This game kicks off at six in the morning where I live and there’s the potential for a really bad Saturday even before breakfast.”

 

Ahhhhhh. The mind plays tricks on you sometimes, doesn’t it?

 

This turned out to be the opposite of a bad Saturday at all, folks.

 

Instead, we saw Juventus go out and pass their first big test of the 2023-24 season with flying colors Saturday afternoon. Not only did Juve come out and set the tone against Lazio, but they absolutely took it to the same team that had just handed the first loss of the season to the reigning champions on the other side of the international break. Thanks to a Dusan Vlahovic brace and Federico Chiesa’s left-footed goal out of nowhere, Juve built an early two-goal lead and locked up a 3-1 win over Lazio at the Allianz Stadium, making a statement of their intentions for what might be to come when things are going right. .......

 

It was a complete performance. It was an inspiring performance. It’s the kind of performance that we had been waiting a whole lot of weeks and months for. Juventus, outside of one bad giveaway, did what they needed to do in defense. They were dangerous in attack whether it was through the high press early on or the counterattack as time went on. The much-maligned midfield delivered the goods and had all of the pieces working in unison.

 

This was the kind of performance that Juve needed to start to make folks a believer that this team is not just a competitor for the top four but maybe, just maybe, something greater knowing that there’s no European football this season and Max Allegri can solely focus on Serie A and actually have time to train his team during the week. There’s no game-every-three-days grind or Thursday-Sunday grind because of Europe. It’s domestic ball only, folks. ........

 

Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2023/9/16/23876255/juventus-lazio-2023-serie-a-matchday-4-final-score-result-initial-reaction-random-observations

[Socrates 7971]

FEDERICO CHIESA AND DUSAN VLAHOVIC ARE BACK ON SONG FOR JUVENTUS

 

 

Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa were back on the scoresheet during the same match as Juventus outclassed Lazio to consolidate their early Scudetto charge for the season and it does seem as if they are well and truly back in form.

 

While Juventus were struggling to keep themselves relevant in the race to finish in the top half of the table last season, this new campaign, they have emphatically turned things around. The Bianconeri have grabbed ten points from their first four matches, recording three wins and drawing one against Bologna. 

 

Tensions were rising amongst the Turin-based supporters for their club’s match against rejuvenated Lazio but the hosts controlled the game swiftly with Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa making their mark as the torch-bearers of this Juventus rebuild. .......

 

Read more -> https://www.getfootballnewsitaly.com/2023/federico-chiesa-and-dusan-vlahovic-are-back-on-song-for-juventus/

[Socrates 7971]

Dusan Vlahovic insists Juventus deserved to win

 

 

Dusan Vlahovic, who played a pivotal role in Juventus’ 3-1 victory over Lazio, asserts that the Bianconeri deserved to win the match. .......

 

 

Vlahovic, who has been in outstanding form this season, played a crucial role by scoring two goals, while his strike partner Federico Chiesa found the back of the net also. According to Vlahovic, the win was well-deserved, reflecting the Bianconeri’s determination and prowess in the match.

 

After the match, the Serbian striker said:

“It could’ve been better with a clean sheet, but the win boosts our morale, it is always unpredictable after the break for international duty. We were solid, compact and deserved to win, although Lazio deserve compliments too, as they are a really quality side.” .........

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/dusan-vlahovic-insists-juventus-deserved-to-win/

[Socrates 7971]

Allegri: ‘Best Chiesa game at Juventus, the target is 76 points’

 

 

Massimiliano Allegri believes Federico Chiesa played his best game for Juventus against Lazio today and reveals the Old Lady’s target is to earn 76 points this season: ‘It should be enough for the top four.’

 

Juventus secured a convincing 3-1 win over Lazio on Saturday seeing both Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa getting their names on the scoresheet.

 

The understanding between the Juventus’ strikers is increasing and Allegri was asked by DAZN to comment on this.

 

“Federico plays a little bit closer [to Vlahovic] and is good at creating the best situations for him.

 

“I think today Chiesa played the best game since he joined Juventus in terms of technique, attention and intensity. He is working and improving.”

 

Allegri was happy with everyone’s performance and didn’t hide his satisfaction.

 

“I am happy with how we played, the victory and the behaviour of those who were involved,” he said.

 

“The atmosphere was great, the fans pushed and supported us even when Lazio had the ball, so I am happy. We must keep our feet on the ground. Our target is to finish in the top four, so now we are above expectations. .......

 

Read more -> https://football-italia.net/allegri-best-chiesa-game-at-juventus-the-target-is-76-points/

[Socrates 7971]

TRAINING CENTER | PREPARATION BEGINS FOR SASSUOLO-JUVE 

 

 

 

The working week began for Juventus' first team this Tuesday morning at Continassa with their focus fully fixed on Saturday, September 23, when the Bianconeri will take on Sassuolo in Reggio Emilia. Kick-off is at 18:00 CEST. .......

 

Read more -> https://www.juventus.com/en/news/articles/training-center-preparation-begins-for-sassuolo-juve

[Socrates 7971]

Sloppy mediocre Juventus suffer first loss of the season

 

 

Juventus stumbled out of the gate in their match against Sassuolo, ultimately suffering a shocking 4-2 defeat. The Bianconeri appeared to have made a strong start as Adrien Rabiot came close to scoring from a free-kick but missed the target. However, Sassuolo quickly took control, seizing the lead in the 12th minute, serving as a wake-up call for Juventus.

 

In the 21st minute, Juve managed to level the score with an own goal from Matias Vina. Despite dominating possession, they struggled to find a second goal. Manuel Locatelli missed a golden opportunity at the half-hour mark, increasing the frustration within the team, which resulted in a deserved yellow card for Adrien Rabiot. .......

 

With Vlahovic being subbed off for Moise Kean in the 76th minute, Juventus aimed to regain control. Federico Chiesa managed to score the equaliser in the 78th minute, but the lead was short-lived as Andrea Pinamonti netted Sassuolo’s third in the 82nd minute. ........

 

In the final minutes, Federico Gatti scored a bizarre own goal, inadvertently passing the ball into an empty net after Wojciech Szczęsny’s pass. At this point, Juventus simply wanted the game to end. After eight minutes of added time, the referee blew the final whistle. .......

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/sloppy-mediocre-juventus-suffer-first-loss-of-the-season/

[Socrates 7971]

Juventus Player Ratings vs Sassuolo: Szczesny and Gatti Horror Show

 

 

Juventus (3-5-2)

Wojciech Szczesny – 4.5

Despite making two spectacular saves, this goes down as one of the Pole’s worst displays since joining Juventus. Made a howler on the opening goal as he failed to punch out Armand Laurienté’s shot. His shaky clearance on the third goal allowed Pinamonti to pounce on the rebound, while his ill-advised pass to Gatti culminated in a comical own-goal.

Federico Gatti – 4

The Italian defender was shaky from the very start of the match. His poor pass led to Sassuolo’s second goal. Allowed Laurienté to skip past him on the third strike, before scoring a disastrous own-goal that will probably haunt him for the rest of his days.

Gleison Bremer – 6

.......

Danilo – 6

Although he couldn’t close in on Domenico Berardi on the second Sassuolo goal, the Juventus captain restored the ball on several occasions and made some vital contributions at the back.

Weston McKennie – 6

........

Fabio Miretti – 5.5

........

Manuel Locatelli – 5.5

This was a far cry from the midfielder’s inspiring display last week. Struggled in the battle of the middle of the park against his former club.

Adrien Rabiot – 5

........

Filip Kostic – 5.5

........

Federico Chiesa – 7

The Euro 2020 winner was easily the best performer among Massimiliano Allegri’s men. Delivered the assist that sparked the first goal and then scored the second himself. Chased every ball for 90+ minutes.

Dusan Vlahovic – 5

A forgettable evening for the former Fiorentina man who scuffed a precious one-on-one opportunity in the second half. Left the pitch with an irritated expression on his face.

Substitutes

Nicolò Fagioli – 6.5

The Juventus youth product was one of the brightest spots of a calamitous evening for the Old Lady. Set up Chiesa on the second goal with a deft flick and did well as a Regista in the final stages. But still has to improve his defending.

Samuel Iling-Junior – 6

This wasn’t his most memorable display, but the Englishman played a part in Chiesa’s goal by keeping the ball in play. He also made an important challenge to deny Laurienté an easy chance to score.

Timothy Weah – 5.5

..........

Moise Kean – 5.5

.........

Arkadiusz Milik – N/A

 

Read more -> https://cultofcalcio.com/juventus-player-ratings-vs-sassuolo-szczesny-and-gatti-horror-show/

[Socrates 7971]

Juventus 2 - Sassuolo 4: Initial reaction and random observations

Honestly, last Saturday was a lot more enjoyable.

 

 

 

If you were hoping for a repeat of what we saw seven days ago against Lazio, pretty much all of those hopes went away the second the ball slipped through Wojciech Szczesny’s hands and Juventus were forced to play from behind for nearly 80 minutes.

 

Maybe we should have taken that as a sign of things to come.

 

What started with a horrible goal allowed to Sassuolo was bookended by one of the worst own goals you will probably ever see no matter how long you end up following Juventus and calcio in general. Juve’s 4-2 loss Saturday night wasn’t just bad, it was a horror show in every sense of the term — and that could have been the case even before Federico Gatti’s own goal that will have millions upon millions of eyeballs watching it over the next few hours. This was banter-level stuff from Juventus, and about as deserved of a loss as we’ve seen them handed in a good amount of time. ......

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

• The ball was moving. The conditions sucked due to the late-September rain. But that was a pretty awful howler from Wojciech Szczesny. You can trying and break down all of the factors you want, but he simply didn’t catch the ball on a shot that he’ll tell you he has to save 11 times out of 10.
• This was Domenico Berardi’s 300th appearance in Serie A. It kinda makes sense that it came against Juventus considering the fact that he’s been linked with a move so often over the last decade.
• That previous sentence was written well before Berardi should have been shown a red for his challenge on Bremer. The fact that it was only a yellow and the referee didn’t even go to the VAR screen to look at it himself just shows you how flawed this whole system is.
• So, Sassuolo scored two goals after Berardi should have been sent off. Let’s just pretend like they don’t count. Yeah, that’ll make the actual result easier to take. Yep, totally. I’m onto something here. ........
• UPDATE: Juventus’ 14th shot was finally put on frame. It was a goal. ......
• The “funny” thing is, this was a total clunker of a game for Gatti even before he did what he did on the own goal to put the cherry on top.
• I was actually pretty excited to see Samuel Iling-Junior and Timothy Weah on the field at the same time because that’s a whole lot of speed to burn. Neither of them could get going.
• Juve’s tracking of Berardi on his goal — bad, very bad.
• Filip Kostic attempted one cross. One! ........
• Nicolo Fagioli was the only Juve player who had more than one key pass against Sassuolo. Fagioli didn’t start the game.
• Juve’s three starting midfielders combined for three key passes.
• Manuel Locatelli was bad.
• Adrien Rabiot was bad.
• Fabio Miretti was bad.
• They were all bad. Just name somebody not named Chiesa and they were probably bad. .......
• In conclusion, that was awful. That truly was awful. Just about everything outside of Chiesa’s goal was awful. I got nothin’ left to say.

Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2023/9/23/23886787/juventus-sassuolo-2023-serie-a-matchday-5-final-score-result-initial-reaction-random-observations

[Socrates 7971]

Juve fall into the Sassuolo trap in season’s first loss

Juventus immolated themselves with repeated unforced errors as they lost at the Mapei for the second consecutive year.

 

 

 

Juve were flying high coming off of their best game in years, but were headed into a stadium that has brought them struggles in recent times, against a Sassuolo team that had lost three of their first four games and needed points if they wanted to avoid falling into the relegation fight early.

 

As trap games go, this one was classic. It was basically dancing naked on a table wearing a sign that said “I AM A TRAP GAME,” while Admiral Akbar’s iconic cry of “IT’S A TRAP!” from Return of the Jedi boomed through the speakers.

 

And Juventus fell right in.

 

It was a truly miserable showing from everyone on the pitch, save Federico Chiesa, who was integral to the team coming from behind not once, but twice to even the score. Unfortunately, the man couldn’t be everywhere at once, and his teammates were so off-kilter that they handed Sassuolo their 4-2 victory on a plate. Two of Sassuolo’s goals came off awful goalkeeping errors by Wojciech Szczesny, another via a bad giveaway, and the last was one of the more comical own goals you’ll ever see in the sport. .......

 

When Massimiliano Allegri’s team sheet came out an hour before kickoff, it was clear a miracle had occurred. For the first time in 112 Serie A matches, he had named the same team twice in a row. Szczesny started behind the usual 3-5-2 formation. Federico Gatti, Bremer, and Danilo screened him in defense. Weston McKennie and Filip Kostic manned the wing-back spots, while the trio of Fabio Miretti, Manuel Locatelli, and Adrien Rabiot made up the midfield. Chiesa was joined in the front two by Dusan Vlahovic. .......

 

It looked like a relatively simple scenario. Pinamonti had headed a throw-in down to Laurienté, and the winger decided to take a shot at the near post from just above the left corner of the box. It looked like a routine save that Szczesny makes hundreds of times — except this time. Maybe he misjudged the flight of the ball, or the power of the shot, but the ball clanked off the heel of his hands, over his shoulder, and into the net. It was such a massive howler that Laurienté took a few seconds to realize what was happening and start celebrating. ......

 

 

It was just as well, because with 12 minutes to go Chiesa’s moment finally came. A cross from Timothy Weah was nodded backward by Iling-Junior at the far post, and Fagioli laid the ball off to the No. 7, who had hung back and found himself in a pocket of space. His shot took a slight deflection, throwing Cragno off as to the angle it was coming in at and flying past him to tie the score.

 

 

It looked like the momentum was undoubtedly with Juve for the last 10 minutes—but momentum only lasts as long as a mistake in this sport, and four minutes later Szczesny made another one. The team picked the absolute wrong time to sag back in defense, allowing Laurienté to take another powerful shot from above the corner. Szczesny again seemed taken by surprise as to just how much pace was on the ball and misjudged its trajectory. He seemed to overrun it, and could only parry it directly at Pinamonti, who calmly headed the ball past the keeper to reestablish Sassuolo’s lead. ......

 

But any chance Juve had of a dramatic point was dashed by one of the most ludicrous losses of focus you’ll see on a soccer field. Szczesny had run to the left corner to take a free kick that had been won by Iling. He kicked the ball to Gatti, who was immediately pressed by Henrique. Gatti then passed the ball back to where he thought Szczesny was—only he was still nowhere near his line, and the ball simply rolled into the net. From there, it was simply a matter of waiting for the final whistle to end the misery.

 

 

 

LE PAGELLE

WOJCIECH SZCZESNY - 3. The only reason this isn’t lower than this is that he actually did produce a couple of world-class saves amidst all the chaos. This was not a good day for him, and is sure to start a tsunami of calls for Perin to start, but everyone needs to calm down with those. It’s one game.

FEDERICO GATTI - 3. The own goal was really just the nadir of a pretty awful performance on Gatti’s part. He gave the ball away repeatedly in bad spots, including the errant pass that led to Berardi’s goal. This is one he’ll have to file away quickly and move on.

BREMER - 6. ........

DANILO - 7. Covered everything on his side, especially with Iling-Junior getting upfield as much as possible in the second half. His statline is pretty dang crazy: four tackles, eight interceptions, six clearances, and a block. He perhaps sagged a little too much on Berardi on his goal, but overall he was far and away the best player on the back line.

WESTON McKENNIE - 6. Another solid performance off the right side, creating some dangerous play in the first half before fading a bit in the second. Would’ve certainly had a goal to his name had Viña not tapped into his own net in front of him.

FABIO MIRETTI - 5. ........

MANUEL LOCATELLI - 5. .........

ADRIEN RABIOT - 5. .......

FILIP KOSTIC - 4. Felt like a passenger for the entire first half. He did make a pair of tackles, but there was none of his typical runs to the end line to set up players in the middle. Another candidate for a seat on the bench on Tuesday.

FEDERICO CHIESA - 7. One of the only players who was really present all day. He set up the first equalizer and scored the second, making a key pass and drawing four free kicks. If he’s in this kind of form he’s going to be tough to stop all year. The question is whether the rest of the team will keep up with him.

DUSAN VLAHOVIC - 5. Got into some good positions but just felt off all day long. His control let him down a few times in promising spots, and you simply never see him misjudge a header the way he did early on from Chiesa’s cross. He’s a player who thrives on confidence, so he’ll need to put this behind him quickly.

SUBS

NICOLO FAGIOLI - 6. Had three key passes in only 45 minutes of play — no other Juve player had more than one. Connected on three of five crosses, and completed 89.3 percent of his passes overall. He’s looking much better than he did in the Bologna game and probably deserves another start.

 

SAMUEL ILING-JUNIOR - 5.5. ........

TIMOTHY WEAH - 5. Only touched the ball 16 times in half an hour of play and didn’t really have a ton of influence with it. ......

MOISE KEAN - NR. ........

ARKADIUSZ MILIK - NR. ........

MANAGER ANALYSIS

The players were, generally, bad. There’s no doubt about that. The lion’s share of the blame for this fiasco goes to them, without question.

But then you have to ask yourself why they were this bad in the first place. Why did some of them look checked out and dropped to the level of their competition?

That’s a coaching issue, and one that Allegri has repeatedly had problems with in his second stint with the club. He even said in his post-match press conference that he had seen “warning signs” over the week that the club might be dropping its focus. He said he attempted to nip them in the bud, but clearly whatever he tried didn’t work.

When one or two individual errors cost you a game, that’s a player issue. When the entire team shows up lacking clarity and focus, the question has to be asked about how the manager let it get to that point — especially when he admits he’s seen it coming. Between now and Tuesday’s match with Lecce he’s going to have to nail down what happened here and fix it — and quickly. ........

 

LOOKING AHEAD

It’s the first midweek fixture of the year as Juve welcome Lecce to the Allianz on Tuesday, followed up by another big test in a trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta on Sunday.

 

Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2023/9/24/23887271/sassuolo-juventus-2023-serie-a-matchday-5-final-score-result-match-recap-manager-analysis

[Socrates 7971]

Allegri says Juventus ‘lost our heads’ in defeat at Sassuolo

Coach’s comments after first Juve defeat of the season

 

 

 

Just when you thought Juventus have turned a corner and are morphing into something else, they go ahead and put in a distracted performance that saw them soundly spanked 4-2 away at Sassuolo despite having leveled with about a dozen minutes left to play.

 

Speaking after the game, coach Massimiliano Allegri attempted to put on a brave face.

“Let’s talk about the game. It was the first defeat, we must learn from it. We were not phenomenal before this game, just as we are not awful after it.

 

“We had our heads in the clouds with the butterflies, it had started well and there were some fairly simple situations we didn’t make the most of. We conceded at their first attempt and rather lost our heads, so we paid for that.”

“I’ve had a few games in my career, I know the strengths and weaknesses of Serie A teams. This was just the final chapter, I already had warning signs over the last few days that we tried to attenuate.

 

“Now we mustn’t get downhearted, there is an important match coming up and we must try to get three points.”

 

“This was a match where we were lacking in terms of mentality. We are still not able to switch during the game, to stay in it at every moment. I already had the sensation that we were panicking a little whenever the ball was put into the box, which had not happened against Lazio or the other games, so that had me on alert.” ......

 

Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2023/9/24/23887110/sassuolo-4-2-juventus-serie-a-match-recap-reaction-allegri-comments-lost-our-heads-vlahovic

 

[Socrates 7971]

Horror Show

We talk a bad day at the office, the worst game of Woj’s Juventus career and Federico Chiesa doing the most.

 

 

 

I’ll tell you what ... Sassuolo’s highlighter yellow kits were not the worst thing on the field on Saturday night at the Mapei Stadium.

 

In Juventus’ first loss of the season, a 4-2 final scoreline against Sassuolo, everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. There’s just a not a ton you can do when your starting keeper gift wraps the opposition two goals and allow a hockey style open net own goal. .....

LVP: Wojciech Szczesny

There’s no other candidate really. Not because the rest of the team had a particularly good game — far from it — but more because Woj had one of the worst games he’s had as a Juve player and perhaps his whole career.

 

I’ve been debating which one of his glaring mistakes was worse, but I can’t really decide. Sure, the first goal Sassuolo scores is the most obvious one. Armand Laurienté unleashed a pretty straightforward shot that was looking for the top corner but that didn’t quite curl enough to present much of a challenge. Woj jumped in the air and couldn’t decide whether he wanted to corral it or bat it down and ended up doing neither as he just got tangled with the ball and allowed it into the net.

 

That’s deflating, sure, the game is just starting and you allowed a goal on Sassuolo’s first chance of the game but there’s still plenty of time. Which is why I’m inclined to put more weight on the second huge blunder of the evening as just minutes after Juventus drew the game up 2-2, Laurienté unleashes another long range effort which should have been easily parried away. Which, to Woj’s credit, he did, but he did so right at the path of a completely unmarked Andrea Pinamonti who easily headed the ball into the net on the rebound. .......

 

It’s usually pretty hard to blame one guy exclusively for a loss, but this time it’s really not much of an exaggeration. Woj cost the team this game. .....

 

Chaotic Chiesa

One of the only Juve players who showed up to Mapei Stadium was Federico Chiesa, as the one thing you can’t criticize him for was a lack of effort and grit.

 

That being said, we sure got one of the most chaotic Chiesa performances I can remember with all the good that comes with that ... and the bad.

 

First off the good. I’m ready to call it, I like the Chiesa as a second striker move. He is so much more connected to everyone else on the team and it allows him to attack from everywhere on the field. He is rarely isolated on the wing as he was so many times last year and that makes his impact all that much greater.

 

He scored his fourth goal of the season which bodes well for Max Allegri’s prediction about him needing to score around fifteen on the year and was an all around problem for Sassuolo almost every time he touched the ball. ......

Parting Shot of the Week

I still like this Juve team.

 

They might not be as good as they looked last week but they are definitely not as bad as they looked against Sassuolo. Sometimes you have games in which everything goes wrong. Just forget this ever happened and move on.

 

Hopefully you won’t have too many games in which so many players put forth so many bad games forth at the same time. I hope so at least.

 

See you Tuesday.

 

Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2023/9/24/23887436/sassuolo-juventus-grab-bag-2023-serie-a-matchday-5-final-score-result-analysis-szczesny-gatti-chiesa

[Socrates 7971]

Opinion: Gatti and Szczesny had a stinker, but Juventus have more pressing concerns

 

 

Following a morale-boosting win over Lazio last weekend, few had envisioned the type of horror show we witnessed from Juventus as they succumbed to their first loss of the season at the hands of Sassuolo on Saturday.

 

This was the kind of performance that the likes of Wojciech Szczesny and Federico Gatti will want to forget as soon as possible. Nevertheless, it might end up haunting them for the rest of the days.

 

While almost the entire team was under par, the aforementioned duo took center stage in what unfolded as a tragicomedy play at the Mapei Stadium.

 

The Italian defender and Polish goalkeeper each produced several gaffes. Their miserable evening reached its climax when combining to score a shocking own-goal that sealed Sassuolo’s 4-2 victory.

 

Nevertheless, one can argue, that based on the displays from the first five rounds of the season, Juventus might have bigger concerns than the two men’s stinker from last night. ........

Rabiot’s Form

Since the start of the season, Adrien Rabiot has been a shadow of the player who bossed the middle of the park last season and cemented himself as a pillar on both phases of the game.

 

It could be that the 28-year-old still isn’t at his optimal physical condition, but his current clumsy displays are evoking memories of the player’s first three underwhelming campaigns in Turin.

Inconsistent Vlahovic

Is Dusan Vlahovic truly back to his best, or is it a mere false dawn. Only the next few fixtures can reveal the answer.

 

The Serbian bomber put Lazio to the sword last weekend with a superb brace, raising his tally to four goals this season.

 

Yet, the 23-year-old failed to bury what should have been an easy scoring opportunity (regardless of whether he was offside or not), as his shot was both feeble and off target.

 

This is the sort of inconsistent runs that raises concerns regarding the player’s ability to become a bona fide world-class striker.

Lack of Attacking Flow

...........

 

Allegri’s men do not possess any sort of attacking flow at the moment, as the team mainly relies on a magic moment from Chiesa for inspiration. ......

 

But amidst the lack of creative attacking options and in the absence of any tactical brilliance whatsoever, Juve’s struggles to produce chances may well haunt them for the remainder of the season.

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/opinion-gatti-and-szczesny-had-a-stinker-but-juventus-have-more-pressing-concerns/

[Socrates 7971]

Ex-referee says he would have sent off Berardi for stamp on Bremer

 

 

One of the contentious incidents during yesterday’s Juventus versus Sassuolo match revolved around the referee’s decision not to eject Domenico Berardi from the game, despite his clear and deliberate stamp on Gleison Bremer.

 

Fortunately, the Brazilian defender escaped serious injury from this incident.

 

Berardi’s foul was unquestionably deserving of a red card, and numerous Juventus players vociferously called for the referee to take this action. However, the referee ultimately brandished only a yellow card to the Sassuolo player, a decision that left many baffled.

 

In a surprising turn of events, VAR did not step in to review the incident, even though the foul had the potential to cause Bremer a severe and long-lasting injury.

 

Former referee Luca Marelli has shed some light on why VAR did not intervene, despite his personal opinion that a red card should have been issued. ......

 

“VAR can only intervene to correct a clear and obvious error, which in this case was not warranted. Considering that Berardi’s knee was bent when he made contact with the shin and that there was not a great deal of power behind it, there was insufficient evidence to overturn the decision made by the referee.

 

“Having said that, I personally would’ve given a red card and felt that the referee should have punished this with a dismissal, but he evaluated the incident on the field and that is what will remain.” ........

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/ex-referee-says-he-would-have-sent-off-berardi-for-stamp-on-bremer/

[Socrates 7971]

Milik strike breaks down stubborn Lecce to give Juventus the win

 

 

Arkadiusz Milik stepped up with a goal that proved decisive for Juventus in their Serie A clash against a resolute Lecce side tonight. Juventus had to bounce back from their previous 4-2 defeat to Sassuolo and were up against an undefeated Lecce team that had previously defeated Lazio and secured points against Fiorentina and Genoa.

 

Despite Juventus’ recent struggles against Sassuolo and Bologna, they entered the match with a strong sense of confidence. In the first half, they nullified Lecce’s attacking threat. The Bianconeri created numerous scoring opportunities, with Federico Chiesa and Milik testing Lecce’s goalkeeper, Wladimiro Falcone. ........

 

The decisive moment arrived in the 57th minute when Adrien Rabiot skillfully nodded the ball into Milik’s path, and the Polish striker finished with precision. Although there was a VAR check that briefly threatened to dampen the celebration of the Bianconeri players, the goal was eventually confirmed. .......

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/milik-strike-breaks-down-stubborn-lecce-to-give-juventus-the-win/

[Socrates 7971]

Juventus Player Ratings vs Lecce: Milik’s Strike Settles Cagey Affair

 

 

Juventus (3-5-2)

Wojciech Szczesny – 6

Following the horror show at the Mapei Stadium, the Pole was seeking atonement. However, the Lecce players failed to test him with a single shot on target. Nevertheless, getting the clean sheet should be refreshing.

 

Danilo – 6.5

The Juventus captain was untroubled at the back. He also pushed his teammates forward. Although his distribution was hit-and-miss, he picked up Chiesa with a brilliant through ball that should have culminated in a goal.

 

Gleison Bremer – 6

.........

 

Daniele Rugani – 6.5

A comfortable display in defense from the former Empoli man on his first start of the season. Made a good case for additional playing time.

 

Weston McKennie – 6.5

The Texan made himself a protagonist on both ends of the pitch. Did well to win back possession on many occasions. Delivered the pre-assist with a decent cross to Rabiot.

 

Nicolò Fagioli – 6

The Italian midfielder displayed some flashes of brilliance, but still doesn’t appear to be at his sharpest from a technical and physical standpoint.

 

Manuel Locatelli – 6

.......

 

Adrien Rabiot – 6.5

The Frenchman started slow but his performance grew as the match progressed. His header provided the assist for the winner. Could have delivered another one, but decided to go for goal himself.

 

Andrea Cambiaso – 5.5

........

 

Federico Chiesa – 7

The former Fiorentina ran his socks off for the team. He remains the most creative force at Juventus but will certainly rue his missed one-on-one opportunity in the first half.

 

Arkadiusz Milik – 6.5

The Pole hardly impressed during the first half, wasting several balls with his heavy touch. But his display improved after the interval and eventually found the back of the net. His goal may have been a simple tap-in, but he also helped in the build-up.

Substitutes

Filip Kostic – 6

.........

 

Federico Gatti – 6

A morale-boosting appearance for the Juventus defender following the traumatic events of the weekend. He was barely tested though.

 

Dusan Vlahovic – N/A

Fabio Miretti – N/A

Timothy Weah – N/A

 

Read more -> https://cultofcalcio.com/juventus-player-ratings-vs-lecce-miliks-strike-settles-cagey-affair/

[Socrates 7971]

Juventus 1 - Lecce 0: Initial reaction and random observations

There weren’t many style points at the Allianz Stadium, but there also weren’t any massive game-altering mistakes from Juventus, either.

 

 

 

I’m guessing that after the showing they just had over the weekend, the last thing Juventus players and coaches alike wanted to hear was that of whistles from the stands as they walked off the field at halftime. Unfortunately, that happened Tuesday, with a pretty uninspiring opening 45 minutes leaving you to wonder just how much the loss to Sassuolo was still lingering for those same players and the man who fills out the starting lineup.

 

While there wasn’t a whole lot of room potentially play worse, the chance to play better come the second 45 minutes was there for the taking.

 

It wasn’t pretty, but Juve did just that.

 

 

An improvement second half — albeit, still very far off from what we saw from them the last time they played on the Allianz Stadium turf — and Arek Milik’s first real contribution of the night saw Juventus grab the lead over Serie A’s biggest early-season surprise. While Juve pushed for a second goal that never came, the Bianconeri’s 1-0 win turned out to be more of a grinder than something that was easy on the eyes and something that would have allowed the clear anxiety that was in that stadium to be totally relieved.

 

It was not pretty. Not by any means.

 

Some of the same issues — especially in midfield and finishing in front of the Lecce goal — was there again just like we saw over the weekend against Sassuolo. For all the good Juve’s defense did — Lecce didn’t even take a shot until nearly the hour mark — it was the other two areas of the field that still looked disjointed and not as fluid of a unit as they have at other points of the early season to date. .......

 

Juve got the win. It wasn’t one that is all that inspiring, but I’ll take it. And now I hope they rest up and come out a whole lot better than they did on Tuesday night when they make the trip to Bergamo. Let’s just hope they can crank it up against Atalanta like they did in their first big game of the season because that was fun. ......

 

 

RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

• At least we can say Juve’s back into second place for a few hours, right?
• You want a good way to ensure that your goalkeeper who just had arguably the worst game of his career doesn’t repeat it? Well, I can think of one — not having Lecce record a shot on goal and look pretty rough in the attacking third as a whole.
• Lecce finished with two shots. Total. That’s it! ........
• Lecce pressed. Juve struggled with the press. Welcome to things that don’t surprise you. ......
• This also had the feel of Chiesa trying to do a little too much at times? I don’t know. He sometimes just puts his head down and dribbles with the one goal of trying to do everything himself no matter what. ......
• Former Juventus Coppa Italia hero Hamza Rafia was a second-half sub for Lecce. ‘Member him, folks? Because up until a few days ago, I had totally forgotten he was still in Serie A. .......
• For somebody who doesn’t play all that much all will (probably) see his playing time be not as plentiful with no European football this season, Daniele Rugani has become a pretty reliable backup on this team. That’s another way of saying he did another solid job and I have no complaints about how Rugani played against Lecce.
• The SofaScore rating said Manuel Locatelli had a pretty good game. Maybe my eyes are deceiving me — and, based on my visit to the eye doctor yesterday, that could be true! — but I thought it was a lot like the team as a whole where things were better in the second half.
• Weston McKennie got the hockey assist on Milik’s goal. That’s more involvement in a goal for a guy who is playing as a wingback who isn’t actually a wingback.
• That said, that second half seemed like a prime opportunity to bring Timothy Weah on a lot earlier than he was to have him try and beat some dudes for pace on the right wing. Sometimes you just gotta unleash that speed. (Although I’m sure Allegri held off on making the move because McKennie is probably the better player on the defensive end of the two.) .......

Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2023/9/26/23891365/juventus-lecce-2023-serie-a-matchday-6-final-score-result-initial-reaction-random-observations

[Socrates 7971]

Corto muso returns as Juve squeak past Lecce at home

Max Allegri’s tactical response to Saturday’s loss left a lot to be desired, but in the end Juve came out with three points.

 

 

 

One of the biggest questions about Juventus early in the season has been what Massimiliano Allegri would do tactically after the team’s first real setback.

 

After showing renewed tactical gumption early in the season with a new-look press that at times have Juve looking a little more like the teams of the last decade than the current one, it was still uncertain how Allegri would react when the team got punched in the mouth. Would he stay the course and keep the new tactics? Or would he revert to his default of the last two years — passive corto muso football that caused games against even the lowliest opposition to spike a person’s blood pressure.

 

Based on Tuesday’s game against Lecce, the needle is, unfortunately, tilting toward the latter.

 

Juve were booed off the field at halftime after failing to create much of anything on offense. Lecce played football in the middle of the pitch and were barely hassled by any players clad in this year’s snazzy grey third kits. Despite the fact that they were held without a shot, they at times looked the better side going into the locker room at the break.

 

Fortunately, Juve’s second half display was better, although still a little too passive at times. An ugly goal by Arkadiusz Milik just before the hour made all the difference, and while Juve pursued a second goal, they lacked the aggression in doing so that we saw against Lazio 10 days ago, and seeing out the 1-0 victory had more to do with a defense that didn’t allow a shot on target for the entire game than the attack looking to seal things with another goal. .......

 

The one real chance Juve made came in the 27th minute. It was set up by the best passage of football Juve produced all night, starting with Chiesa on the left side. He played the ball to Locatelli, who exchanged quick passes with Fagioli before feeding it back to Chiesa again. The forward then played a deft one-two with Danilo, who fed him perfectly into the left channel. He was clear on goal and beat Falcone to the far post, but elected to use his weaker left foot and pushed it just in front of the post instead of curling it inside. ......

 

 

LE PAGELLE

WOJCIECH SZCZESNY - NR. No point in giving a rating here after Lecce was held completely without a shot on target. Szczesny was barely even called upon to deal with a cross.

 

DANIELE RUGANI - 6. A very good season debut. I almost forgot he was there at times — in the good way.

 

BREMER - 6. Got physical with Kristovic and committed a bunch of fouls early, but eventually kept the young Montenegrin completely under wraps.

 

DANILO - 7. The kind of captain’s performance we’ve come to expect. Pushed up a lot in the second half, and ended up tied for the team lean wtih three key passes.

 

WESTON McKENNIE - 7. Three tackles and three interceptions defensively combined with some good work offensively, including the hockey assist fo the goal and his own key pass a while earlier. He’s really taking to playing outside, although he doesn’t quite have the “blow your man away” speed he sometimes needs to create room for himself.

 

NICOLO FAGIOLI - 7. This is more like his usual self. Completed 88.1 percent of his passes, three of which were key passes. When Juve did get themselves into position to do something offensively, he was usually in the middle of it.

 

 

MANUEL LOCATELLI - 7. This is more like it from him. Completed passes at a 92.7 percent clip, including two key passes, and was a wrecking ball defensively. He had six tackles, twice as many as anyone else who stepped on the field Tuesday night.

 

ADRIEN RABIOT - 6. His assist on the game-winner gives him some shine on what was again not quite the level we’re expecting to see out of him after last year. But the assist was a huge one, so he gets a passing grade.

 

ANDREA CAMBIASO - 5.5. ........

 

FEDERICO CHIESA - 5.5. Didn’t put any of his four shots on target and seemed to be starting to put the team on his back too much as the game wore on without a goal. On the bright side he did complete all of his crosses.

 

ARKADIUSZ MILIK - 6. Largely anonymous before the goal, he put himself in perfect position to time hi run and bury that finish. Also had two key passes and held the ball up pretty well when he had his back to goal.

SUBS

FEDERICO GATTI - 6. Nothing like the horror show from the weekend. Helped seal the win after coming in for a less-than-90-minutes fit Rugani.

 

FILIP KOSTIC - 5. .........

 

DUSAN VLAHOVIC - NR. ........

 

FABIO MIRETTI - NR. ..........

 

TIMOTHY WEAH - NR. ........

MANAGER ANALYSIS

That was not encouraging.

 

The direction Allegri would take the team after its first real setback was one of the big questions early in the season. So far, though, it only needs and the needle points a lot more toward the things that caused the team to struggle the last two years as opposed to the new tactics that saw the team look a lot more exciting early in this campaign.

 

With Atalanta looming over the weekend, it won’t take long before we figure out exactly whether we continue on this slide back to full-on corto muso football or continue to play a more proactive game that has been the story of the year so far. Any regression could have a serious impact on Juve’s ability to make the top four this season, and we can only hope that the back room staff is able to coax him back out of his shell, because when Allegri coaches scared, the team looks it too, and it struggles.

LOOKING AHEAD

A big three-game stretch is coming up, starting with the weekend’s trip to Bergamo to face Atalanta. The first Derby della Mole of the season follows that, then, after the international break, comes a trip to San Siro to face AC Milan.

 

Read more -> https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com/2023/9/27/23891622/juventus-lecce-2023-serie-a-matchday-6-final-score-result-match-recap-manager-analysis-max-allegri

 

[Socrates 7971]

Allegri: ‘Juventus from Scudetto contenders to flops’

 

 

Max Allegri calls for calm and ‘balance’ from the media after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Lecce. ‘Over the last few days we’ve gone from Scudetto rivals for Inter to being flops.’

 

The Bianconeri badly needed a boost after their 4-2 defeat to Sassuolo, but were jeered off the pitch by their own fans going into the half-time break at the Allianz Juventus Stadium. .......

 

“It was important to get the win, especially after a chaotic defeat against Sassuolo. We were up against a Lecce side that allow you very little, but we stayed balanced and made the most of our chances,” Allegri told DAZN.

 

Despite the positive result, Allegri stormed off down the tunnel a few moments before the final whistle was blown in Turin.

 

“We must not play the ball backwards so much, with a minute to go you cannot just punt a ball into the box, but we need to sort these things out. ........

 

“Over the last few days we have gone from Scudetto rivals for Inter to being flops, so there has to be a little balance in the way we are talked about.

 

“I don’t want to hide here, Inter, Milan and Napoli have better resources than us to win the title. We have many players without a great deal of experience, but they can grow. It takes patience and time to absorb errors and learn from them.” .......

 

Read more -> https://football-italia.net/allegri-juventus-from-scudetto-contenders-to-flops/

[Socrates 7971]

Vlahovic is back to full training but Juventus sweating over another striker

 

 

Juventus has received a significant boost on the fitness front with the news that Dusan Vlahovic has rejoined group training sessions. The Serbian striker had been training separately alongside Moise Kean following the last Bianconeri match.

 

Vlahovic’s participation in the recent group training session indicates that he has successfully recovered from whatever issue was affecting him. This development is a welcome relief for Juventus, especially considering their need for offensive firepower.

 

However, the report also notes that Moise Kean still requires further fitness progress to rejoin the group training sessions and continues to work separately. Kean is eager to regain full fitness and be available for selection as Juventus prepares to face Atalanta in their upcoming fixture. ........

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/vlahovic-is-back-to-full-training-but-juventus-sweating-over-another-striker/