Juventus v Cagliari
Serie A Week 5 – Wednesday, 21st September – 19:45 GMT – Juventus Stadium
Juventus
The best medicine after a bad loss is to play right away and redeem yourselves: thanks to the midweek match day, Juventus will have the chance to do just that. The performance against Inter was poor from every standpoint: technical, tactical, physical, character. Despite grabbing the lead, the opponents were superior in all facets of the games and quickly found the equalizer. It looked like Inter wanted it more and were more prepared, while maybe Juventus underestimated the enemy, which, to be honest, was very different, much much better compared to his previous games. The squad was outmatched.
The two most glaring issues were the fragility of the defence and the position of Miralem Pjanic. BBC had a slow start last season as well, conceding way too easily: maybe it is related to conditioning, after all they are all big players, but keeping only two clean sheets out of five matches is subpar. It is noteworthy though that three goals came from set pieces and one from a bad pass in a very dangerous position, so it should be relatively easy to clean those up.
Pjanic made his much anticipated debut as deep-lying playmaker and it did not go well. The center of gravity of the team was too low, he did not have many, if any, illuminating passes and he did damage only in the couple of times when he got close to the box. Of course, he is also not a physical presence in front of the defence. Despite being in a central position, he was not involved enough and was sucked into the mediocrity of the rest of the teammates. Putting him there takes away a number of chances that he could create in another position, so he will have to play much better to make it work.
Despite some early reports indicating a switch to 4-3-3, Massimiliano Allegri should opt for 3-5-2 in this one as well. Leonardo Bonucci will not play and Daniele Rugani will take his spot as Medhi Benatia left the Inter game early with an apparent hamstring injury, whose severity has not been revealed yet. Dani Alves should reclaim his spot on the right: Stephan Lichsteiner scored but did not have a good game on Sunday. On the other hand, Alex Sandro was incredible and it is really hard to bench him now that he is on fire. Patrice Evra suffered a knee sprain in the last practice, hopefully it is not too severe.
As it has been and as it will be for at least a month, the biggest conundrums lie in the midfield, which will inevitably continue to be heavily scrutinized after the deadline day debacle. None among the trio stood out on Sunday night and unfortunately Kwadwo Asamoah had that costly turnover that led to the Ivan Perisic goal. The coach pointed out that Sami Khedira has played seven games in a row, which is very rare for him, almost unprecedented: he will be spared and he has not been called up.
At this point, despite lacking some of traits of the prototypical player in that position, vision and long range passing just for starters, Lemina is the best option in front of the defence. Allegri strongly supported Hernanes in the pregame presser, so he might actually have a chance to start. The coach also suggested moving Juan Cuadrado, Alves or Sandro in the box-to-box position as fallback option: they would add an element of speed, but it would a big gamble. Stefano Sturaro will be back in a bench role.
Paulo Dybala could be given a day off: Allegri pumped the breaks on Marko Pjaca, saying that he needs more time, but he would be the most natural replacement for the Argentinian starlet. After being dropped against Inter, Gonzalo Higuain will return to the starting XI and a heavyweight couple with Mario Mandzukic is a legit opportunity. In case the early reports turn out to be correct, Juventus have the ability to field a very dangerous 4-3-3 featuring Cuadrado-Higuain-Pjaca frontline.
Probable lineup:
3-5-2: Buffon; Barzagli, Rugani, Chiellini; Alves, Lemina, Hernanes, Pjanic, Sandro; Higuain, Dybala.
Injuries:
Marchisio (knee), Khedira (rest), Evra (knee), Benatia (hamstring), Mandragora (foot)
Suspensions:
None.
Cagliari
Cagliari have put together a very decent team and should be able to separate from other sad sacks and to avoid being involved in the relegation race late in the season. In a fashion very typical of the low-table team, they struggled in the two road games, against Genoa and Bologna who are not the strongest opponents in the world, while they had two glorious performances at home, first coming back from 2-0 against Roma and then dismantling Atalanta with a 3-0.
They actually try to play well and create chances, but this has backfired in the away matches and against Roma because they have a very slow and fragile defence: the strikers Marco Borriello and Marco Sau had a hot start, but they can not always outscore the opponent.
In the last game they recovered one of their best player, Joao Pedro, who was sidelined by a serious hamstring injury late in the preseason. The Brazilian attacking midfielder unleashed hell on the Atalanta backline and has always had a knack for scoring even when he was a more obscure player. The diamond formation of Massimo Rastelli relies heavily on the production of the player in the hole and last season Pedro delivered big time. However, Juventus could catch a break because he might not start considering that he was pulled early in the last game because he was fatigued and it would be his second game in three days after not playing for forty days.
They will be particularly thin in the midfielder: Artur Ionita shattered his fibula against Bologna and will miss a good chuck of the season, while Mauricio Isla, who moved up in the last game, will miss the Juventus game. Daniele Dessena is also out after last year’s gruesome injury. So they have two holes to fill: at right-back and in the midfield. As for the first one, it will be one between Fabio Pisacane, Luca Bittante or the CB Luca Ceppitelli sliding on the flank. In the midfielder, the coach can choose between the veteran Gianni Munari, Panagiotis Tachtisidis or Nicola Barella, who could also play more advanced if Pedro can not go.
At times in the first couple of games, they used 3-5-2 to be a little more conservative, but it has not really worked out and it distorted the team, but of course it could be an option in a tough road game.
It could be a trap game: Cagliari came away from Torino with points in five of the last eight encounters and scored in six of them, so they must not be taken lightly. The hope is that Juventus will answer the wake up call after the Inter game.
Probable lineup:
4-3-1-2: Storari; Pisacane, Alves, Ceppitelli, Murru; Munari, Di Gennaro, Padoin; Barella; Sau, Borriello.
Injuries:
Ionita (fibula), Isla, Dessena (fibia), Farias (calf).
Suspensions:
None.
Formation
pls just fuk off with 352 crap pls, how the fuk can you play 5!!! defenders against cagliari??? god damn, really tired of this defensive line up,we have pjaca, cuadrado, try the CHP trio up front, but still the midfield will sucks, khedira will get day off, so we have terrible Asa & Hernanes, then Lemina and Pjanic , the weakest mid in years for me,or maybe 4231 would work, with Pjanic as cam and cuadrado and pjaca on the wings, higuain up front , lemina defenitely as cdm but who next to him , no idea.
just my thoughts
I really don’t get why we still go with the 3-5-2 formation again and again, in every game. If we can’t even try new formations against the bottom half teams(no offense towards them) then are we supposed to be experimenting in CL?
We need to adapt according to the players that are disposable and depending who we are facing.
I totally agree with you. Do we need 5 defenders in front of the goal(not including support from our midfielders)?
We should be dominating games like these and let players like Cuadrado, Pjaca, Sturaro, Lemina and Rugani get some playing time. How will they ever be able to adapt and develop their play if they are never to touch the grass on match day?
I get it. Mister is careful, but there is a difference between being careful and scared to change. Well the midfield is what it is and we have to adapt and face reality, make the most of the situation.
I really hope we will bounce back tonight, that Mister and the players will be motivated and angry enough to prove everyone wrong, including my self.
I get your point. Rational seems straightforward to me 3-5-2 is awinning system in Serie A…
Meaning In Italy Catenaccio beats open football (Take that Roma, napoli, Fiorentina, and even Sassuolo).
Problem is in Europe for now Open football beats Closed football, Total football beats Catenaccio, and so on.
In Europe we don´t seem to be able to ull it off (the 5-3-2) in every match. and TO WIN UCL WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PULL OF 3-5-2 IN EVERYMATCH
or…
DITCH THE FREAKING SYSTEM…
.. and actually even better take the best of both worlds (5-3-2 and 4-3-3) and Use:
– 4-2-3-1 the 1st 15 mins or against teams like Sevilla to run them over pure man City style
– 4-3-3 for the next 60 mins (that makes it 75) Against teams like Barca or Bayern. mirror their formation.
– 5-3-2 pure catenaccio styel if we are at an advantage.
Two holes to fill. *Snigger*
I don’t see why Bonucci has to be rested. He already played less than the other CB’s due to his private problems relating to his infant son, he missed they Italy games as well. I think he already played the least from the 3 CB’s. Plus in the last few season, he practically played every single game.
The rotation doesn’t make sense to me.
Been thinking, maybe we should give Bonucci a “Pep” try out: put him in as a DM/CM, for as long as we lack a real bully. Bonucci is a tall, strong guy, with a fairly decent technique and a good eye for passes. So why not? He knows how to defend through and through and can act like a vice-Pjanic.
Hola comrade, I am of the same mind on both scores. Yet have given up moaning (for a day or two) of Allegri’s fetish for rotation.
Given there is talk of deploying Cuadrado as an offensive CM, I see every reason to broach the idea of Bonucci given a run out in the DM role. If not, he should be playing at the back. Rugani can still come in, and he surely must get some playing time, else it will make sense for him to be seeking alternative options come the Winter mercato, though we will never sell him! The only obvious problem with pushing Big Leo up is that he is not particularly mobile and he will have far less time on the ball if higher, for when he has the ball deep the opponents are often miles away. Giving him time to ponder and pick out a pass.
These next two games do appear a great opportunity to play the best available and get some solid results and the start of momentum leading up to the important european tie.
It most certainly does appear strange for Allegri to be pondering Cuadrado in RCM rather than to try a 4-3-3. Yet it matters not where Juan is placed on the screen depicting the formation for he will head where is natural which is wide right. His pace, his sole weapon, is best used on the flanks…
I am concerned only with victory. Performance comes second. We must demand 6 points from the next two games, no matter who plays…although I will be happy to see Sturaro given some minutes.
Glad to see we share minds on the idea! I can understand resting Khedira, if he is fatigued he should not be risked against Cagliari – with his injury record in mind, that would be dangerous.
Yet why we need to rest Higuain, Bonucci or anyone else, that goes beyond me.. Dybala the same thing, he hasn’t scored yet, but has been the biggest threat up front nonetheless. He should play unless he is truly fatigued!
It’s just a gut feeling, but I do think Bonucci could be excellent shielding Pjanic and the backline. He has the characteristics for it, despite indeed not being the fastest guy on the roster. He doesn’t really need to go deep in enemy territory, so I think he can manage it, but it remains to be seen.
The idea of Cuadrado as RCM terrifies me mate… I can only hope it is just the tag of RCM then, with him in reality playing as RW. I’m all up for some Cuadrado time, if as RW.
I hope both Marchisio and Sturaro recover swiftly from their injuries, I feel we miss them sorely. At least, I do miss them both. I feel Sturaro can make a breakthrough soon enough.
Victory is indeed all that matters right now, I hope for a good game, but won’t be bothered one bit if the performance is bad and the result is 3 points!
I can’t stand to watch Asamoah play so lethargic. I love the big guy, but the recent showings give him no credit as starter. To the bench with him!
‘terrifies me’! It will be a 4-3-3 if he is deployed there. Allegri has not suddenly gone spastic. Surely…?! hohoho!
Yes yes! I am glad that someone else sees potential in Sturaro. and for my own stance, he has already proven far more value to the side than Lemina, yet for some reason – maybe because he is black and has a fancy hairstyle? – the majority seem to herald Lemina as a world beater in the making. I make little sense of such a position, for he has yet to achieve anything in our colours, and when I saw him live here in Melbourne, he was absolutely atrocious. Absent of the other first team regulars, it was Dybala and Sandro who seemed top drawer, and that is in line with what we have seen thus far.
Asamoah causes me to cringe more than any other this season, early doors as it certainly must be outlined, yet he seems unable to display basic ball control, constantly needing many touches to bring the ball anywhere near under control and he was to blame more than any other for the defeat on Sunday, for his shocking pass led directly to the winning goal. Like you, James, I have huge love for the man, yet cannot help but ponder, he has been too long out of the CM realm to be able to offer much there presently.
And no, as you say, why the hell would Dybala need a break, or Higuain? Khedira…possibly so.
In all honesty, I’d like a 4-3-3 too, even though I don’t think the 3-5-2 is at the heart of the blame. I also fancied Lemina a potential world star, but so far he hasn’t lived up to it yet. I hope it remains to come though, he also is playing in a role he isn’t accustomed to.
Sturaro on the other hand is in my view, ready to demand a starting role as central enforcer, provided he gets a chance to shake off the dust after his injury woes.
I fortunately missed out on the game, as I just can’t make it back home before 7PM at best. I missed the game and I don’t want to see the highlights either. It is plain, without even watching, that Inter was better than Juve on all fronts.
I hope Asamoah can pick up form soon, it’s now we need him at his best. In January he will leave for the AFCON and after that, Marchisio should be perfectly fit again and so will Sturaro, plus perhaps the addition of a certain Witsel… Thus the need for the big Ghanaian will be far less after the winter mercato! He must make a statement now or soon or I expect he will be shipped off in the summer.
Even Khedira should only rest if he is overworked and likely to pick up injuries, which is hard to see as outsiders. It’s up to Allegri and the medical staff to decide that, I assume.
Maybe Khedira is already overworked. Not sure from what, but seeing his recent play…. I’m still disappointed about him wasting 2 chances in the first half against Sevilla.
Perhaps so, against Fiorentina and Lazio he gave is MOTM performances and after that, average as can be.
4 man back? As much as I wish i did, I don´t see it happening today, But the system is not much of an issue today
I don´t see it happening today much less against a minnow team. Juve tends to use 4 man setups against big guns of serie a not minnows, and not even that since most of the time we will rely more on the 3-5-2.
from what it appears we will see 3-5-2 at least in 3 or even 4 to 1 ratio compared to 4 man back in Seria A at least for this half of the campaign.
Belgian I am sure as knowledgeable as a seasoned football follower you already may have a way of watching past matches. Still in case you didn´t or anyone else may find this useful I use this site to watch recent matches I happened to miss. Maybe can´t go back to 2003 matches (haven’t found if available yet) but still may be useful.
https://www.fullmatchesandshows.com/2016/09/18/inter-vs-juventus-highlights-full-match-4/
Always available in plain english for your enjoyment. We don´t want such performance and effort from our players to go unnoticed do we?
I always liked 4man defences, but it is not a requirement for good football. I really don’t think the formation is at the heart of some problems we’ve had. Both 4-3-3 and 3-5-2 require a dominant midfield, which has been lacking for this season.
3-5-2 or 4-3-3, for me it depends on the available players and the opponent. Though of course, a team should always play to its own strengths rather than to the opponents weak points.
I actually don’t know that site mate, I base my opinions on what I see, what I feel and what I remember. Deducted from that, I form my opinions.
Though I have to say, I dislike watching games when I know the result already. Takes away all the excitement for me
I am glad to hear you actually like them. it is not like I am a 4 man fanatic. because last year when we used it we looked very fragile defensively, but I think it came out only of employing something unrehearsed at the top level. i am sure if we use a 4 man back often (switching with 3-5-2 during game) maybe in a year or 2 we can have a defense if not equa, at least very very near as solid as we have with a 3-5-2.
I agree I don´t think formations per se equate good or bad football, but it is a clash of styles anytime Juve plays big guns and in present times maybe because of the kind of football that is played today or the kinds of players currently playing it that at the very top level 4 man setups seem to have the upper hand.
I repeat unless you can pull it off (a 3-5-2). because when we field it we usually don´t start games like we are doing today at Cagliari controlling the game and putting opposition against their backs, but on the contrary its us who start with our backs aganist the wall, usually concede early on in the game, and once behind on the core the going gets much tougher for us so that sometimes we come back afloat like we did Against Madrid or Bayern, but sometimes we don´t like we did against Barca, or even did not do last game against inter. (I am talking against top guns specially in Europe)
now bout the site it features no opinions whatsoever, It only has recorded games from all of Europe, and even from some other regions too i think.
Not a bad idea. Pjanic – Bonucci – Khedira. Benatia could be second choice DM when he needs a rest.
Indeed, Benatia could do the job too, he’s even more physical than Bonucci. I hope it is something that crosses Max’ mind too. Even if he deems it unsuitable to put to use.
Thats an amazing thought!!!
That sounds interesting. Bonucci is one of the best CB’s in the world imo from what he showed in the last few seasons. His passing has developed extremely well, he keeps suprising me with his long balls, he gave an amazing assist for Italy i think (was that at Euro 2016?). I’m all up for trying this out and would we put Rugani in his place in defence or switch to 2 CB’s with Chiellini and Barzagli?
I’m gonna try to fit everything in 1 post that i wanna reply to instead of making a million little posts.
@TGP, you can add me as another member of the Sturaro fan club. If you perform like he did in an UCL semi final, there is no denying of his potential. The guy would give his life to prevent or to score a goal. But i wonder how far he can really grow? There is no doubt about his determination but can he become world class skill wise? That would be great for both Juve and Italy.
@Belgian, i agree about Asamoah. I understand the critic, but it kinda hurts when it’s about a guy like him. I’m really hoping he can snap out of it soon and come back to his best form. He’s one of the players that help build this new Juve.
I think personally, I’d swap to a 4man defense. Use Rugani as back-up, for we might tire too many CB’s at once if we field 4 out of 5 of them.
His awesome assist was against Belgium at EURO16 😛
We need to go into this match fresh, forget about the last 2 matches, the critics, just play like we can, dominate them, score goals. We absolutely need 2 wins this week before going into the second CL game. I have faith that we will do exactly that.
Forza Juve per sempre!!
PS.. I’m going on vacation to Sicily tuesday, i will be in Palermo a few days after that. Juve will be in Palermo this saturday. That’s kind of unlucky for me, but what are the odds 😀
Woah woah!!, are you all guys feeling alright today? I AM SEEING SOME BOLD STATEMENTS TODAY IN HERE, KEEP IT UP BOYS.
Is the sun just shining brighter or completely absent than every other day today (that we go a Haywire on ideas as if joyful or desperate -well, haywire only to a degree. i am Just picking out a little on you boys, bear with me-)?
I know the Inter loss might have been hard to take but, hey I am actually somewhat impressed from what i am reading on this thread (except for you 3-5-2 detractors who seem unrelenting on the stance, I get you boys I get your point and feelings though the 3-5-2 is a concern to me only in UCL, in Serie A is nothing short of a system that pretty much guarantees you a scudetoo, whence why we have 5 out of 5 already).
These days I am seeing al things in black and white, as a tale of two camps
– Catenaccio vs Total football
– Open approach to football vs Closed approach to matches.
– High Risk aversion vs High Risk Tolerance
– Resolute calmness and confidence, Ardent shock and concern (some wrongly see it as panic or even dismay).
So straight to the point although I must confess it feels rather funny or strange to read some somewhat riskier calls today (because before today they have been pretty much absent) from the likes of TGP and Belgian, as an advocate of open mindedness and risk taking I sincerely welcome such comments, suggestions and `out of the box´ ideas and even ballsy calls for all it matters..
Now what makes it a little funny is to see such BOLD statements go unnoticed is that only a few weeks ago and even on sunday a suggestion in the vein of having a winger deputise as CM would be taken as outright idiocy or lunacy, as childish player card slotting or positioning pure FIFA 17 style (Am i wrong poet?), and even having people call if you even are for real (Am I wrong belgian?). And with such assertions an not only voiced in the comments but even making it to next featured piece. All of this only to watch them less than a month later.sneak in to the camp of resolute calm and confidence (boys do you think that one would go unnoticed? it didn´t to me) and even go as far as to reach near consensus level on one of the camps here at JuveFC.
BE IT WELCOME!!, AND LONG LIVE OPEN MINDEDNESS, THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX, LEAVING THE COMFORT ZONE, AND EVEN ENGAGE ON SOME RISK TAKING.
Because lets be straight Belgian and TGP when you talk about deputising Bonucci as CM it pretty much the idea of deploying a winger as a CM. Now I pretty much guess what you you would say, that it is not the same, obviously is not as straightforward as thta, but in terms being open minded, of shaking things up a bit and gambling a bit, it pretty much is straightforward equivalent.
It is not unheard of in the world of football to retreat your players pure mascherano style where he has almost never played CM for Barca, Barca also wanted Cuadrado as Rightback (he never wanted to), retracing Pirlo to regista, retracing Rooney to play in the hole and so forth and so on. What is at least somewhat less common is to actually advance players positioning unless there´s an undisputed display of talent and quality which validates such a BOLD CALL.
So Belgian what i am actually hearing is a VERY VERY BOLD CALL. And I welcome it. Heck you know what? I´ll even not let you die on this one and will join you on this call and agree that since the last two games are not the end of the world and compared to last year we have points to spare we should actually “pep” and deploy bonucci at CM, since that is what we are doing theses days, fully immersed in a trial and error phase in midfield featuring almost anyone who may give even the slightest hint to get right at least one or two aspects or have a glimpse of the characteristics of what midfield requires. All credit to you i never thought of that one.
Now as all things have another edge to the blade although it might seem a very bod call on the other hand indeed I have called it somewhat risk taking since deploying Bonucci as CDM and even enforcer is an outright defensive move, in my eyes pretty much equivalent to fielding sturaro, although he has not Bonucci´s lon Ball he sure has more grinta than even Leo has, because Leo defends rather more zonally than marking to the man and acts as backup to the centerback who actually chase the man, leo is there in case the CB gets run over, not to avoid being run over. Still heck I´ll go with you on that one for the sake of it and just deploy Leo there and let us all see how it pans out rather than having us all talk here about it theoretically.
Now Man today the sun is brighter, to actually hear both you and TGP talk about 4 man formations gives me a sigh of relief. Because although i think TGP´s 4-2-3-1 system idea:
Buffon
Lichsteiner Barzagli Bonucci Sandro
Pjanic Sturaro
Khedira Dybala Marchisio
Higuain
… seems to me a tad conservative (fielding Khedira and Marchisio as wingers, when we could field Cuadrado instead of Khedira and Pjaca/Instead of Marchisio) because yes yes khedira has much smart positioning and better passing than Cuadrado (meaning maybe you think Khedira makes up in smar runs and passes -and would acually pull it off rather than sometimes fail like Cuadrado- what he lacks on one to one duels, and Marchisio has same qualities plus more grinta and medium distance shot. Still i would rather have them in their usual positions and field more of a. Still hats off to you TGP for fielding aggressive fullbacks like Lich and Sandro running some risks at the back. i don´t know actually how easy or hard (on the defensive phase) it was for you to call that formation and man picks (maybe sturaro makes you more confident.
I would actually deploy a:
Buffon
Lichsteiner/Alves Barzagli Bonucci Sandro
Pjanic Marchisio
Cuadrado/Khedira (i´ll borrow this one from you) Dybala Pjaca
Higuain
I think this would be a tad more aggressive so It wouldn´t be crazy to think Max could lean to your side of the approach (unless he happens to go more haywire in 4 man seetups) than going haywire,
Now another thing which caught my eye is the sudden pragmatist approach
So maybe now that max has hinted at some of these things maybe you are actually starting to consider it WHICH I WON´T CONDEMN BUT RATHER WELCOME IT since what matters here is Juve actually achieving its fullest potential.
And to keep ourselves on the vein of pragmatism and realism I think It is good enough already that at least we start talking and considering these things (And since there´s the eventual detractor who only tries to debunk anything you say Heck i ´ll say it please don´t count me as one who didn´t call for these things because i actually was one of the first, so although I try to understand the more conservative view of some here I am not shiping ship whatsoever to being more conservative).
Still I try to wrap my mind, understand and dissect that view only so that I can actually understand what the heck is Max thinking or doing when with his appproach at during match at the panchina.
.
Off topic: Simone Verdi just scored the goal of the season for Bologna against Sampdoria…
I try that shit on FIFA all the time, just amazing to see it in real life.
That was certainly amazing. Perfect control..
https://wiz1.net/channel95
english stream, so far good quality.
It is always nice to see Gigi hug it out with Marco Storari. Grazie Marco for your years of service in black and white. A Champion. Same goes for Simone Padoin. PADOIN!! PADOIN!!
Nice words man. I will never forget Storari celebrating from the bench.
True
That was pretty nice!
Not all has to be game control and creativity on midfield. A rehearsed play always comes in handy.
Are you kidding me, I missed the first few minutes and RUGANI SCORED?!
You shouldn’t watch then, we will get more Rugani goals. Go away! 😀
I also didn’t watch the Inter game, so I guess I should keep watching! 😛
Haha true. Atleast you got to see this one. Golzalo!!!
Fuck yeah Gonzalooo! Goddamn stream freezes all the time though, I have no idea what it looked like, but the commentator said it was scored on the rebound 😛
We went from 0 game control against inter to near 100% control on this one. 3-5-2 looks so much different when teams sit back, than when they press you high, man mark your regista, take the ball, and attack you like inter did and Sevilla somewhat did. We seem to not have a solution for that one yet.
And that’s exactly why we shouldn’t play 3-5-2 in the CL or against Inter, Roma, Napoli, Milan maybe even. Those teams aren’t afraid of us like Cagliari is.
CLEARLY YOU GET IT.!!!
Don´t need a PHD or have played at professional fottball level to find out about that one. Still it eludes many.
Juve shoulldn´t play that setup against big guns AT ALL. Unless we can pull it off which we seem far far from actually being able to. It is useful only to defned a lead on the last 15 mins. Sometimes we actually went 6-3-1 when defending a lead on UCL, like we did for example against Madrid in the Semifinal 2 UCLs ago.
Well that’s what we wanted, Cagliari is being butchered, christ xD
I feel slightly bad for Storari though.. Such a great guy. Not much he could do about any of those goals, except perhaps Alves’ goal.
He saw it late and you could only move so quickly at age 40
Yeah thats why I said perhaps, his positioning was wrong, but it was a difficult shot anyway to stop.
It was also an odd sight, seeing Alves and Higuain hug each other with the same shirt on, celebrating Alves’ goal. A sight I could very well get used to!
Wow this game, the complete antithesis to the game against inter, so calm. I am chilling on this one. 😀 Call me boring. obviously as much as you can praise our might, at least 50% of the result is thank to Cagliari. i´ll call this one a “no show” on their part. Easy to win that way. Winning on 2nd gear.
A warm up or sparring game for all it matters.
I’m afraid Palermo won’t be much more trouble than this.
If that were the case then that would be just too easy. Not what Serie A is supposed to be about (Serie A is not supposed to be la liga, but the hardest tournament in the world, although nowadays it is far from it).
Not all teams will play up to that, to play the loser aginst us (Not in Serie A and especially NOT IN EUROPE. As much as we are experts on beating those who do, we need to step up our game against those who don´t play the loser from kickoff.
maybe it is not the hardest but the most tactical defenitely, not like up and down forest gump EPL
cant underestimate them,
What has Padoin done today?
Maybe the same he did at training Sessions at Vinovo. Although wth much more quality back then.
Move out of the way so Juve can score goals? :p I’m being too hard on him.
I haven´t focused as much on him to give you the most accurate answer.
I just hope this display is a good rehearsal on how to undo a 4 man defence. A framework or vague reference to what a game against a back 4 should be like. Though I think thats a far far stretch. Don´t see any big gun and not even Sevilla playing like Cagliari did today anytime soon.
I hope we don´t get complacent but take this game as rehearsal of the 3-5-2.
Lucky Lemina 😀
Napoli is playing a draw at the moment 😉
Thas what you get for trying to win a scudetto playing an open style football and a 4 man setup against minnows.. hence why we don´t do it.
Arek Milik finally stops scoring.
*claps*
I actually think Hernanes has earned his spot as Regista until Marchisio is back, he played well today, at a minimum did what he was supposed to do, he was not hard pressed, but still. We just need Pjanic´s quality higher up the field.
Maybe.. But Hernanes also played some horrible games.
you cant judge him after game against palermo tbh my friend, dont over act guys, this was cagliary, lets see if more results like this come, i hope so
I’m moving over to this idea too Seb. But Hernanes has had some shockers as mentioned, so perhaps too early to tell. I think Hernanes, Lemina and Pjanic may be a better trio than if Sami K plays until as you say Marchisio returns. But it’s just a theory unproven until perhaps the Palermo match if Max reverts back to the former trio and drops Hernanes. Lets see what happens when we revert back, and Lemina is forced into DM duties again.
i agree prety much on all your points
– Can´t say anything definitive about Hernanes and even then marchisio will be starter (God Willing) so hernanes would still be on the bench for the majority of the campaign..
– A Mid trio without Khedira might be more stable, balanced or reliable.
– Only time will tell how accurate your theory is
– I will jump ahead and gamble a take on it and say I think if Lemina plays DM wont be much different (in near term unless he really improves) to what we have seen so far.
Meaning by the time he hipotethically gets Beter Marchisio will be available.
What i am saying is I think Lemina is better in a more advanced Postiion, exactly the same as Pjanic. (but since theres more quality in pjanic he would be a very good sub at best, unless he really really gains more edge)
Meaning to me Midfield´s base case should go:
– Regista: Hernanes/Marchisio (Until Marchisio is 100% then swap hierarchy and have Marchisio as starter)
– Left mezzala: Pjanic/Lemina/Sturaro/Asamoah
– Right Mezzala: Khedira/Lemina/Sturaro/Asamoah
Meaning I would use your setup depending on player availability, condition, and as much as many call for thinking only about ourselves, i ´d alternate manpicks and positions according to opposition, specially to make us less predictable. Still there should be a defined starting XI as TGP says.
Now since I think YOU HAVE A POINT and your mid picks would be the more balanced, well oiled, and reliable. I would still like to see Khedira as a starter in agmes when we have to assume protagonism, specially against teams like Sevilla where we need true aggression even if it means running a few risks in mid and even on defense, since they won´t be much of an attack threat like a Barca or Bayern top gun.
So I´d dare now say at home I´d use Khedira and away or to have amore cautious approach or even if at a slight advantage i would pick your proposed mid trio.
Alves makes this formation feel different than Lichtsteiner, particularly noticeable in this game.
I liked Lemina more in this position than where he’s been used previously – yet I understand why he’s been used there so far.
I’m so happy and excited for Rugani!! That goal will keep him happy for a while.
We’re back in first place. 🙂
Didn’t watch the game cuz I had no idea we played today, but I saw the highlights. I really feel bad for Storari, having to play with such shit defenders around him, but overall great way to bounce back
Good response, ideal response. Some random thoughts:
– Higuain must always start matches if fit. He is a different prospect in our attack to MM
– Still not sure if i like Dybala playing so deep and with such freedom – He takes more hits and tackles and doesn;t play far forward enough to score goals. Positve side is that he plays some great passes for Higuain and they are starting to understand one another better
– Still convinced Lemina is going to come good for us – I like the way he plays, especially when he’s not playing regista
– Pjanic in the hole behind the front two would be so much fun to watch – not to say he hasn;t been good in games like this, considering he could have scored twice. I see loads more to come from him
– Rugani is a starter in any other team – He is such an intelligent young player, i want to see him start over Giorgio at times. He’s got the legs that Chiellini doesn;t
– Hernanes…..he was good. Did nothing overly spectacular but he kept us moving forward and made some nice tackles.
– Dani Alves needs to drop the rolling around and theatrics because when he plays like this, he’s superb – Cutting into midfield while Sandro plays wider, i like his positioning – he’s a smart smart player.
A positive result to match a positive display where we didn;t even come out of third gear – coasted on down the road to victory. Seems like our toughest spell is over for now. 3 wins and 1 loss from Sassuolo, Fiorentina, Inter and Lazio is not bad going, considering no one turned up for the Inter game. Hope to see a more intense and dominant display in the CL next week and an easy victory over Palermo this weekend.
FORZA JUVE !
“Still not sure if i like Dybala playing so deep and with such freedom – He takes more hits and tackles and doesn;t play far forward enough to score goals. Positve side is that he plays some great passes for Higuain and they are starting to understand one another better”
As long as hes performing and the team benefits from it and hes happy, i dont mind him not sxoring as many goals :p
Plus teams wont be tempted to purchase him 😀
Stupid adult responsibilities got in the way of me being able to watch the game, but i loved how when Rugani scored, the whole team went over to show him a great amount of love and support <3
What a family. Let keep it rolling for the big boys too please
My tire was punctured and i had to attempt to get a texas id because my Cali license is expired:p but the fucking idiots didnt allow it becaus i didnt have physical document evidence that im john papilaya. Retards, who would want to steal my identity? Plus its not like i had a fake license. It was leggit 3 months ago. Why the hell do licenses expire anyways? Usa ran on shit systems. America the great my ass. Now i have to wait for my mom to send my shit from Cali before i can cash my check :p #RantOver haha
lol thats fuked up