A big win at last!
Since the return of Max Allegri in the summer of 2021, Juventus have been abysmal in the major clashes against fellow top Serie A sides.
With all due respect to Roma and Lazio, the Bianconeri have been lacking a significant victory for 18 months or so.
Luckily, the negative streak came to an end when the Old Lady emerged victorious in the Derby d’Italia with two unanswered goals courtesy of Adrien Rabiot and Nicolò Fagioli.
The win over Inter makes it four on the trot for Juventus, who have climbed to the 5th spot in the standings, with one extra point ahead of their hated rivals.
So here are our three takeaways from the memorable evening at the Allianz Stadium.
Solid Yet Lucky
By all accounts, Juventus possess one of the most impenetrable backlines in the top European leagues… or at least this is what the stats suggest.
With Gleison Bremer back to the fold, the Bianconeri’s defenses operate on a whole different level. Also kudos to Danilo was made a flurry of interception, blocks and suicidal dives.
However, let’s not forget that Juventus rode their luck during the first half, with their opponents wasting three clear-cut chances in front of goal.
So while our backline has surely been impressive on Italian soil, we still have room for improvement in order to reclaim our position as the most solid fortress on the continent.
Different Vibes
At the start of the season, Juventus failed to display a strong attitude, even during the rare occasions when they managed to win.
But since the Turin Derby, one can almost sense different vibes coming out of the players, even during the European losing efforts against Benfica and PSG.
Now surely the return of some players from injuries coupled with the emergence of exciting youngsters left a positive impact, but more importantly, Max Allegri’s band is finally acting like a genuine team, with the players helping one on another at both ends of the pitch.
New Stalwarts
With the return of Federico Chiesa, Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes, Allegri could be tempted to thrust them back to the starting formation as soon as possible.
But during their absence, the likes of Filip Kostic, Adrien Rabiot and Nicolò Fagioli have been making major leaps and bounds, and it would be truly unfair to halt their progress at this this stage.
Naturally, these players absolutely need a breather – especially Kostic who has been playing non-stop – but their newly established status as club stalwarts must be consolidated, even following the lengthy winter break.
One phrase, 3-5-2. This is what we lacked, a perfect formation that could help Max Allegri experiment with his ideas by thrusting them in a solid clear-cut XI. Kudos to our goalie and the trio of musketeers in the backline in the face of Szcensny (still can’t spell it flawlessly), Danilo, Bremer, and well, unexpected Alex Sandro.
For me, Kostic has been the greatest purchase for Juve across the recent seasons, so he is in undoubtedly. Rabiot and Locatelli rock! However, I am inclined toward Fagioli rather than Paredes and Miretti. Last but not least, this magnificent midfield line is going to be complemented by a touch of Chiesa’s majesty, not Panita’s.
In the center, I prefer Vlahovic with Milik, both
No disrespect to Paredes but he should be sent back to PSG, we don’t need him and he should not be starting ahead of our young players. We need another RWB option to replace Cuadrado ideally during the Jan transfer window. Sandro has looked surprisingly OK in the back 3 but ideally Gatti can start getting more minutes as well.
It is working well right now with 3 in the back, however, playing at the strength of our best players such as Chiesa, Pogba, di Maria and Vlahovic, we might have to consider a 4-3-3. But that is if and when everybody is back in shape. Until then I am much more in favor of a 3-5-2, which will also allow us to slowly integrate Chiesa back in to the team.
I really would love to see Rovella, Miretti, Ranocchia and Fagioli as the main back-ups in midfield rather than McKennie, Arthur, Rabiot and Zakaria. So I do hope there is a clean-up in the midfield during the coming two transfer windows. The
In defence I really hope we also see some clean-up including Rugani, Bonucci, Sandro and Cuadrado. My favourite replacements are Gusto, N’Dicka and Grimlado. With a long shot hope, that we can do a normal Juventus tranfer and pick up Skriniar.
Thomas, why would you consider Fagioli and even Miretti as backups? To whom? We don’t have Man City’s midfield amigo.
3-5-2 is the way to go allthough Allegri switches to a 4-4-2 in the defensive phase. The old master of zombienaccio just cant let go of the 90`s 4-4-2 with a central midfielder out wide. Bremer, Danilo, Kostic and to a certain extent Cuadrado benefits mostly from a 3-5-2. Chiesa would undoubtly benefit the most from a 4-3-3 as I have yet to see him play in a 3-5-2 in his career, allthough he is so intelligent that I think he could do it. The fact that Bremer is pheraps the best in the world in a 3-5-2 is a reason in itself to go forward with this system. Di Maria wont stick around so I wouldnt tweak anything for his sake. In midfield there is Locatelli, Fagioli and Rabiot to me. Put Paredes back on the plane to Paris before Christmas. Right back/wing back needs to be reinforced before the second half of the season regardless of system. Cuadrado is declining fast.