On Tuesday night, Juventus dispatched their players for the holiday season after winning the final fixture in a largely disappointing year.
The Bianconeri hosted Cagliari at the Allianz Stadium, and despite dominating the affair from the get-go, we were made to wait until the 40th for Moise Kean’s opener.
Max Allegri’s men survived a couple of dangerous chances from the opposition to come away with a clean sheet, and Federico Bernardeschi secured the three points with a second goal at the 83rd minute.
So here are our three takeaways from the Old Lady’s 2-0 win over the struggling Sardinians.
An Honest Assessment
After failing to impress for 45 minutes, Allegri decided to substitute Adrien Rabiot in favor of the more dynamic Weston McKennie.
Following the match, the tactician said that the Frenchman has so much to do in order to improve – an assessment that fans and observers had figured out a long time ago.
But the question remains why Allegri insisted on thrusting him one match after another, while leaving our consensus best midfielders this season – Manuel Locatelli and McKennie – on the bench.
Perhaps these two weren’t at their physical peak, but starting from the new year, a more cutthroat approach is needed from the manager, meaning that players must justify their case for a starting role with their performances on the pitch.
A Dilemma Upfront
Once again, Allegri was left to wonder what to do with a three-man attack that contained two center forwards.
Kean expectedly started on the outside, but soon afterwards, he switched to his natural center role while Alvaro Morata shifted to the left flank – a maneuver that almost immediately paid off as the Italian broke the deadlock.
And yet, the two forwards once again switched roles in the second half, which proves that the coach is still struggling to find the player who can imitate Mario Mandzukic’s old role.
But at least we know that this experiment will probably end once Paulo Dybala and Federico Chiesa return from injury.
Same Old Problem
Yet again, Juventus suffered from a mental lapse at the start of the second half and ran the risk of conceding a goal on a couple of occasions.
For the second match in a row, the opposition’s revolt was put down by a second goal, but the Venezia scenario is still fresh in mind.
Except for that away draw in Venice, the Bianconeri did well throughout December and now find themselves just four points away from the Champions League spots.
However, the wins have mostly come against bottom of the table sides who still gave the Old Lady some scares.
However, a grueling schedule awaits us in January, and if Allegri’s men can’t maintain their focus for the whole 90 minutes, then they’ll be made to pay dearly for their mistakes, leaving our Top four hopes in great jeopardy.
