Opinion: Rabiot’s bittersweet heroics and the takeaways from Juventus-Sampdoria

Last night, the stage was set for Dusan Vlahovic to end his drought and remind the world – and above all himself – of his goalscoring prowess.

But after 90+ frustrating minutes, the Serbian’s personal mini-crisis deepened further, as he spent the evening squandering opportunities.

For one reason or another, Lady Luck has completely deserted the former Fiorentina bomber who couldn’t even find the back of the net from the spot.

Yet, Massimiliano Allegri found himself another savior, an expected one, to say the least. Now surely the manager had always tipped Adrien Rabiot to deliver the goods in front of goal, but even he has to be surprised by his pupil’s exploits this season.

Don’t look now, but Rabiot is one goal away from cementing himself as the club’s top scorer in all competition this season, with only one strike separating him from the out-of-form Vlahovic.

But as Juventus fans, we can only contemplate the Frenchman’s career revival with a sense of regret. As we all know, the 27-year-old is widely expected to leave the club once his contract expires at the end of the season.

Obviously, we can’t fault the former PSG man for choosing what’s best for his career (and his bank account), but we can’t help but wonder why we had to wait for three mostly-disappointing years before witnessing the monstrous, free-scoring version of Rabiot.

So every time the World Cup finalist delivers a splendid outing, it prompts a bittersweet feeling at the Allianz Stadium, as the midfielder’s stint in Turin might go down as a major wasted opportunity.

Now here are some other takeaways from Sunday’s 4-2 win over Sampdoria.