A different stadium and a different scenario, but at the end of the day, Juve’s second win of the Serie A campaign shared the same final result with its predecessor.
Paulo Dybala broke the deadlock early on before leaving the pitch injured and heartbroken, and Leonardo Bonucci converted the spot kick in his absence. Maya Yoshida pulled one back for Sampdoria, but Manuel Locatelli restored the two-goal lead with is first goal for the Old Lady.
Nonetheless, a late strike from Antonio Candreva left the Bianconeri sweating until the very end, but they managed to hang on to their second 3-2 victory in a row.
So let’s check out the three takeaways from Juve’s hard-earned win at the Allianz Stadium.
Joy and Agony
Dybala’s shift only lasted for 20 minutes on Sunday, but it served as a perfect description for his time at the club in the last couple of years.
The Argentine was easily the best player on the pitch, scoring from a beautiful strike and creating chances for Alvaro Morata and Federico Chiesa, while also fighting to retrieve the ball.
And yet, the former Palermo star can’t catch a break as he left the pitch in tears after sustaining yet another injury just when he was reaching his best form.
Joyful laughter followed by tears of agony; Dybala’s black and white period in a nutshell.
Allegri’s way
As we mentioned last weekend, Max Allegri felt that he made the wrong tactical choices in the second half against Milan, believing that he should have strengthened the defense with his side leading the match.
Therefore, the Juventus manager decided to bring in Giorgio Chiellini and switch to a 3-5-2 lineup to defend a two-goal lead.
However, the strategy almost backfired (as it did against Udinese). Sampdoria looked like a side that conceded defeat after Locatelli’s goal, but when Juventus took off their attacking wingers, the Ligurians were invited to attack, and Candreva’s strike gave them the belief that they needed.
Building a defensive wall might be needed against bigger opposition, but is it really necessary to drop back against a weaker side that was struggling to hold the ball in the first place?
A Major Leak
After six rounds, Juventus have conceded 10 goals in their net. During the club’s winning run between 2011 and 2020, the team used to go for almost the entire first half of the season before reaching such figure.
Wojciech Szczesny surely played a part in elevating this number, and the defenders were guilty at times, however, the problem goes beyond the goalkeeper and the backline.
The team is no longer able to withhold the lead as they use to in the past, when both sets of players on the pitch used to realize that Juventus simply won’t succumb their advantage.
Allegri’s ability to solve the issue could prove to be the difference between a successful second reign and a personal failure.
