![olympiakos]()
Olympiakos 1-0 Juventus ![juventus]()
Olympiakos 1-0 Juventus 
Kasami 36 (O)
Champions League – Game Day 3 [22nd October 2014] – Stadio Georgios Karaiskáki
It’s the same old story. Juventus doesn’t cut it in Europe against a lesser quality opponent. Today it was Greek champions Olympiakos, but other than the the script remained the same: Juventus disappoint. Now, having lost 1-0, Juventus are in third place in the group, with three matches remaining. Qualification is still very much possible, but it’s going to be hard, and there is no margin for error.
So what went wrong? Basically everything. The team was terrible in the first half. In fact, Olympiakos dominated the first five minutes. At that point, one might think Juventus were just adjusting to the game, sussing things out. But no, they weren’t. While they managed a handful of attacks – mostly via Alvaro Morata who was the best Juventus player today – Olympiakos controlled most of the guy.
It didn’t help that Juve’s starting regista, Andrea Pirlo, had perhaps his worst ever game in the black and white today. Pirlo was not Pirlo today, with a disturbingly high number of give away and bad passes. His free kicks were even pretty poor, although one or two posed a threat. His biggest contribution came when one of his corners led to an offside Carlos Tevez goal.
Elsewhere, Olympiako’s direct play style gave the Juventus defense fits in the first half. They cause trouble in the second half too, but at that point Juve were keeping a hold of the ball more, so there were few chances for their defense to blow it.
Speaking of blowing it, Juve’s defenders totally dropped the ball today. Olympiakos’ lone goal was one of several first half scoring chances, and the defense completely failed on this one. But it all started with a Pirlo interception.
So, the poor Pirlo pass leads to an Olympiakos counter attack. This evolves into a two versus three in Juve’s half, with Pajtim Kasami lurking behind. Angelo Ogbonna ends up in the space between Kasami and Olympiako’s counter-attack, but doesn’t really do anything. This leads to Kasami getting a great chance on goal from the edge of the 18 yard box, and the game’s lone goal.
From there it was not too complicated for Kasami, and he finished his chance. Buffon, who had made some good saves in the first half, could not stop this one.
Juventus didn’t do much in the first half, but I must say they improved in the second. Andrea Pirlo came off for Claudio Marchisio shortly after halftime. They still weren’t very good, but they at least kept possession and built attacks. Olympiakos keeper Roberto made some stunning saves to deny – mostly – Alvaro Morata time and time again. Morata built on his decent first half and had a very solid second, confirming that he should be starting over Fernando Llorente.
Juve’s attack was stunted by a consistent lack of effectiveness. They would go wide, and then whip in a maybe threatening cross, or just hope to play the ball off a defender for a throw in. The wide play was not very good, and Pogba and Vidal’s journeys out wide didn’t provide much of a threat to the Greeks either.
Even the great Carlos Tevez was unable to conjure up any magic, though Morata covered for him on this night. Tevez had some brief shining moments during Juve’s twenty minute run of consistent attack in the second half, but it wasn’t too special compared to any of his other performances this season.
It was one of the worst performances we have seen from Juventus in recent memory. To make matters worse, Juve will likely crush Palermo in Serie A this weekend. This will only frustrate us further as the disparity between Serie A and Champions League results continues. From here on out though, every match for this group is a playoff.
Statistics
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Man of the Match: | Alvaro Morata |
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Corners | 7 |  |
Total Shots: | 18 |
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Flop of the Match: | Fernando Llorente |
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Pass Accuracy: | 81% |  |
Ball Possession: | 63% |
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Fouls: | 14 |  |
Shots on Target: | 5 |  |
Formation: | 3-5-2 |
Formation:
Lineups:
Olympiakos: Roberto; Elabdellaoui, Botia, Abidal, Masuaku; Maniatis, Kasami (Giannoulis 90); Milivojevic, Dominguez (Fuster 85), N’Dinga; Mitroglou (Afellay 69)
Juventus: Buffon; Ogbonna (Pereyra 77), Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Pogba (Giovinco 87), Pirlo (Marchisio 57), Vidal, Asamoah; Morata, Tevez
Ref: Mazic (SRB)
Video Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzWd6_j4QlU
money down the drain, again! 2 in row that could have been a win for Juve with the squad that we have. Allegri needs to smack his players back to the reality of hard work and grinta.
Almost forgot.. First! 😛
Im gonna try to write this as fast as possible. The longer i think about what happened, the angrier i get…
Wingbacks didnt do crap. Ineffective and invisible the whole game. Our midfield sucked. I dont know how anyone can say Pogba was our best player. Is it because of a couple of neat moments and a cross that accidently turned into shot? The guys was SHIT, but as usual, he gets way more credit than he deserves. Where was he in the first and most of the 2nd, cuz i dont remember him doing shit. What happened to the days when our midfield was a power house? We got dominated by olmypiakos. No skill, no creativity, again
get angry for what? they’re shit. don’t get upset because they’re a small club with big aspirations …
Juventus is a nothing club in the scheme of big clubs … they should all be fired, all of them. this team sucks ass …
Who gives a fuck about winning games in Italy … Serie A is a waste land for footballers now .
You’re ignorant. And if you’re a Juve “supporter,” find a new club. You’re a fugazi, a bandwagoner.
Our midfield was a power house in the 4th rate league that is Serie A.
What a team does in Italy is irrelevant as it translates into Europe … Italian teams suck. Period.
Teams like Napoli can’t beat beer league teams in Europe League …
Honestly, our midfield was much more stronger than this. They were much faster, sharper and full of much more heart.
I honestly think they were simply afraid of Conte’s wrath before. Nobody likes to get screamed into bits at half time.
Pirlo could have used a waterbottle being thrown at him tho during the break xD
I’ve only seen a couple of minutes at the end of the first half, and the second half. I think only Marchisio was somewhat decent, the rest just didn’t show up.
We need to spend money on players who can actually help us now, while we have a decent midfield… Who knows how will our team look three years later.
The statistical symmetry between Olympiakios-Atletico and Olympiakios-Juve is as remarkable as the outcome. I believe Juve will win their games at home and progress. It looks like the home team has won all the games in this group so far.
As disappointing as this result is, There is still a good chance Juve will go through for the following reasons.
1) Had it nor been to Roberto’s heroics, Juve would have won or at least drawn this game.
2) The home teams has won all the games so far. Juve and Malmo now have 2/1 home/road games while Atletico and Olympiakos have 1/2. I like Juve’s chances, but I really hope it all doesn’t come down to the last game as it did last year. That would put more pressure than this team can handle. So, winning the next two at home against Olympiakos and at Malmo is absolutely critical.
3) I don’t think there is any team that is under pressure to perform in CL as much as Juve and perhaps Man City. Allegri needs to find a way to put the team at ease. They are playing scared, especially in the first half. They only play aggressively when they are trailing.
bunch of stuck up idiots with no hunger and no desire …
this team will not make it out of the group stages,
I don’t really think hunger and desire are the issue. It is more playing with fear and caution, especially against the lesser teams. They played well against the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid in years past, but they show fear of losing against teams they should beat like Gala, Olympiakos, …
All their recent CL failures are weighing them down. The stigma of being the best team in Italy and not getting out of the CL group stages is weighing them down. Allegri needs to get them to relax and restore their belief.
By the way, I see a similar pattern with the Nazionale too. They play well and get results against the likes of Spain, Germany, England, France, … but they lose against teams they probably should beat like Uruguay and Costa Rica in the last WC. The fear of losing to a lesser opponent is really holding them back.
thats the italian mentality .. they think they’re too good fr everything and everyone until they really think they have to try … its complacency, its a mentality .. a mentality that has led to the down fall of that country on every level imaginable. socially, economically, culturally … no wonder why the country is in crisis … they’re fucked.
Thats not really a good prospective, if we need to win the remaining 3 games :p
Failing to get out of groups twice in a row is just too much..
Although both wing backs were useless, Pirlo was absolutely terrible. It was no coincidence that once he left the field we created more chances and were able to play higher up the field. He needs to be slowly integrated back once he reaches full fitness.
Why did Allegri wait so long to make the changes? This loss is more on him and the tactics than the players IMO. Licht was going nowhere and needed someone to double up on the Olympiakos left back.
This game was screaming out for a 4-3-?
We need to play with more pace and intensity and we should start with Palermo. If we can change the way we play in Serie A we will progress in UCL.
The 3-5-2 is definitely not working in europe. Lich and Asa are asked to do too much, which is why theyre almost always ineffective going forward in europe. Plus Pogba and Vidal have to cover a lot of space, especially when Pirlo plays. Its all too tiring.
Although i do believe the 3-5-2 asks too much of the players, they still deserve bashing for that terrible display. They were sloppy, dominated and showed little heart til the last 30-20 mins.
Also Allegri needs to grow a pair and quit playing it safe. Change up the formation and stop riding on Conte. He also screwed up by playing an unfit Pirlo.
I didn’t mean the players deserve no criticism, but feel that the manager set them up to fail and he should shoulder most of the blame.
do you think Juve was overconfident or complacent?
Scared
Couldn’t agree more. They are scared of another disappointing outing in the CL.
Yeah and thats exactly why it also happens unfortunately
Or scared of their fans
Allegri should experiment with a different formation over the next 3 games (Palermo, Genoa, Empoli). 4-3-1-2
Licht-Bonucci-Chiellini-Asa/Evra
Vidal/Pereyra–Marchisio–Pogba
————Gio/Tevez
—–Tevez/Coman–Morata
Please no. 4-4-2 diamond is so crap in Europe… If we want to switch formations its either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 and we don’t have any players for a 4-2-3-1…
4-3-3:
Licht–Bonucci–Chiellini–Evra
Vidal/Pereyra–Pirlo/Marchisio–Pogba/Asamoah
Tevez–Morata/Llorente–Coman/Pereyra
What are you looking at? Thats not a 4-4-2….
4-3-1-2 is considered a narrow version of 4-4-2
No. A 4-3-1-2 is like a 4-3-3, but you have a player behind the forwards to link play. A narrow 4-4-2 would be a 4-2-2-2.
When you have a diamond (1 CDM 2 CMs and 1 CAM/treq) in the midfield (it IS a diamond) its either going to not have width or too much space in the middle. Either way, you’ll get screwed by big teams. The 4-3-3 has the 3 midfielders in one line in the middle, meaning it is both wide and doesn’t have space down the middle.
There’s a reason teams why don’t play 4-3-1-2 in Europe anymore.
A 4-3-1-2 doesnt have to be a diamond, especially if Morata and Coman are the “2”. Morata already naturally opens up wide while Coman is more of a winger than a striker. The only difference between a 4-3-3 and a 4-3-1-2 is our center striker will play a supporting role rather than target man role.
It does though. What you’re saying is a 4-1-2-1-2 then. Even then, it’s narrow. Strikers/wingers can’t go back as well as left or right CMs in a 4-3-3.
What if they’d try a 4-3-2-1? Almost like a 4-3-3 but with the 2ss playing more behind the lone striker rather than on the flanks? Tevez-Gio
Morata
Yeah that’s more viable. I’d honestly prefer one of the more used ones like 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. Anything but a 4-3-1-2 IMO.
4-3-1-2 has 3 midfielders in a line. Straight line. Not a diamond 4-4-2 (4-1-2-1-2). The formation Allegri should play has 3 mids, playing an equal role in midfield. They rotate with each other throughout the game, and at times 1 will be further back, but hes not a defensive mid, or a deep lying playmaker. By having 3 flat CMs that rotate, we have some width in midfield, enough to create overlapping runs with the FBs and to defend wide, but it also messes with defenses, because they dont get used to playing against the same player most of the game.
good job napoli losing 2-0 to a team called young boys. serie a is a joke
Napoli wasnt and shouldnt be this pathetic tho. Serie a is just pathetic this year. Sucks, all italian teams started positively too.
this year? or you mean for the last 5 years?
Juve lost just a day before that against another weak team…
and that’s why serie a is a joke?
but yeah young boys is worse than olympiakos so…
Should have sent that comment to your other one above. Joking about Napoli’s defeat right after our game is just pointless.
About Serie A, you are right.
my sentiments exactly … serie a is a disgrace.
So is it still sexual abuse if young boys rape you?
just look at the pass pirlo gave on the picture here… he easily could have passed it to pogba on his left
Its obvious Pirlo was nothing of his self yesterday. He looked lost at times even.
the end of allegri´s era just began
Everytime we come up against weaker teams in champions league, the goalkeepers always have the game of their life and stop shots that should be goals