On Saturday, Juventus needed to cement their fourth spot with a routine victory over Bologna. Nevertheless, the outcome was anything but usual.
The Bianconeri created few chances and found themselves trailing at the beginning of the second half following a fine play from the visitors.
Luckily for the Old Lady, Alvaro Morata’s run prompted a challenge from Adama Soumaoro who received his marching orders, and his teammate Gary Medel followed suit after losing his temper.
The Rossoblu tried to survive Juve’s final onslaught, but Morata’s acrobatic effort allowed Dusan Vlahovic to nod home the equalizer.
So here are our three takeaways from Juve’s latest disappointing draw.
A Fish out of the Water
In the last few matches, we’ve noticed how Giorgio Chiellini has adopted a more adventurous approach, surging forwards to support his teammates at times when Juventus are desperate for a goal.
While the captain’s efforts are surely appreciated, his technical touch often lets him down, resulting in losing possession time and time again.
In the current day and age, defenders who possess a fine touch can be found all over Europe, but at the age of 37, it’s too late for Chiellini to learn new tricks.
Therefore, Max Allegri should put an end to this experiment, because it’s damaging the team’s play rather than benefiting it.
Lack of Serenity
Unfortunately for Paulo Dybala, his mysterious future is clearly taking its toll on his morale.
At a time when Juventus needed the Argentine to unlock the cagey Bologna defenses, he either went missing with his wayward shots, or even giving away possession in dangerous areas.
La Joya’s display can be summed up by his argument with Danilo following a poor pass and his early exit as Allegri decided to bet on Federico Bernardeschi at his most desperate hour.
With all the speculations surrounding his future, plus his imminent exit, we can’t fault the striker for playing with a heavy heart.
Questionable Improvement
Since the beginning of the season, fans and observers alike have been comparing the Old Lady’s results this season to those registered during the last campaign under the tutelage of Andrea Pirlo.
While the consensus was that Juventus are slowly but surely improving under the experienced guidance of Allegri, it appears that the latter will gather less points at the end of the season compared to his predecessor.
Although this debate is long one, these stats put the Bianconeri’s alleged improvement into question.