On Tuesday night, Juve’s first European fixture of 2022 ended on a bittersweet note.
On one hand, Dusan Vlahovic made history by scoring just 32 seconds into his Champions League debut. Moreover, the Bianconeri avoided defeat in the first leg of the round of 16 for the first time since 2018.
And yet, the Old Lady’s supporters were left a bit discontent with an underwhelming second half performance that saw Villarreal score an equalizer due to a defensive howler.
So let’s take a look at our three takeaways from Juve’s big European night.
Vlahovic Responds
Apparently, a 22-year-old striker who fails to score for two matches in a row must be subjected to a storm of criticism – even when the player in question has just switched clubs in the middle of the season.
But perhaps that’s the price that a man must pay for being an extraordinary player, and last night, Vlahovic reaffirmed his status amongst the exceptional by breaking his UCL duck in less than a minute.
Therefore, the Serbian responded to the critics in his very own way, proving that there’s no better man to lead the Bianconeri’s frontline.
The Irreplaceable
As we mentioned above, Vlahovic is a superb bomber. The man was only given a couple of chances throughout the match, and still made it count.
Which brings us to the next topic: The alarming lack of creativity within the squad.
Simply put, with Paulo Dybala unavailable to start, the team becomes barren. Surely Federico Chiesa’s absence doesn’t help either, but the Argentine remains Juve’s main source of creativity.
We can blame Max Allegri for such uninspiring performances, but truth to be told, it’s exceptionally difficult to play smooth football in the lack of a midfield anchor who take some of the build-up load off Dybala’s shoulders.
Thus, a playmaker in the middle of the park must be the first priority on Federico Cherubini’s shortlist next summer.
Beware the Untamed
Throughout the current campaign, Matthijs de Ligt is slowly but surely reproducing the type of displays he was renowned for during his days at Ajax.
The fact that Allegri has given him the license to chase the opposition all around the pitch rather than sticking to his post surely helped him in finding his best form. After all, the Dutchman is simply phenomenal in man-to-man marking.
However, unleashing an untamed beast comes with a price.
Even though Adrien Rabiot is the main culprit in Villarreal’s goal (after failing to track Dani Parejo’s run), the center back had abandoned his post while chasing a player he didn’t to chase, leaving a HUGE gap in front of Szczesny’s goal.
Like an exemplary leader, de Ligt owned up his mistake in public and admitted that he must improve in this regard, which is always a great sign for things to come.
So while we all love the resurrected version of the Dutchman, perhaps a little bit of traditional Italian zonal marking would be useful at times.
I thought the performance in terms of defence was good.
My biggest problem is the lack if attacking finesse. The forward progression really needs some work. Morata is good at drawing fouls but he’s too easily knocked off the ball and isn’t aggressive enough when it comes to finishing.
Even if we have to use some of our inexperienced youngsters I’d welcome that just to see the youthful push to move the ball up to the pitch and at least take some more on target shots.
Agreed. Even if you have someone who isn’t a tank, energy and speed are as important in a supporting-striker role, and we have loads of young players to introduce into the team, next sesaon especially