Juve were on top from start to finish for an easy victory.
A lot can change in three days.
Take Jonathan David, for example. Pilloried after his ugly penalty miss over the weekend as Juventus spurned chance after chance and dropped points to a Lecce side they had thoroughly outplayed, on Tuesday he showed everyone his strength of character by stepping up and playing his best game in a Juventus shirt. His excellent showing, capped off by an assist and a goal within two minutes of each other in the second half, ensured that Juventus’ Tuesday trip to Sassuolo didn’t result in the same slip-up as it did against the Salentini.
David wasn’t the only man who did well in the 3-0 victory at the Mapei Stadium. Fabio Miretti scored his first goal since coming back from loan, and even Andrea Cambiaso improved.
How did each player who found the field do on Tuesday night? Let’s take a closer look.
MICHELE DI GREGORIO – 6. A second straight game with little-to-nothing to do, but he never checked out and made two good saves within 30 seconds or so late in the game to keep the clean sheet.
PIERRE KALULU – 7. Continued to play excellent football, pushing forward to create overloads on his side and providing some quality service. He had a key pass and was responsible for the own goal that opened the scoring early. Also led or co-led the team in all major defensive stats (three tackles, two interceptions, two clearances).
BREMER – 6.5. Completely smothered Andrea Pinamonti and was a big part of Juve’s efforts to seal Sassuolo in their own half.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS – 6. Completed 94.9 percent of his passes, but wasn’t as directly involved in the offense as Kalulu was on the other side. Didn’t get hurt on defense either.
WESTON McKENNIE – 6.5. Combined well with Kalulu on the right and made life unpleasant for Josh Doig all night. Good defending as well.
MANUEL LOCATELLI – 6.5. Led the team with 126 touches and completed 92.9 percent of his passes, mostly to keep the ball moving on the attack and feed guys like David, who did the final distribution further up the field.
KHÉPHREN THURAM – 6.5. Two key passes, a pair of tackles, and two shots on target by Thuram, although neither of them were particularly venomous. Won three aerial balls, the most of anyone who saw the field except Pinamonti.
ANDREA CAMBIASO – 6. The lack of backbreaking defensive mistakes is certainly a plus, and he added in two key passes.
FABIO MIRETTI – 7. Finished really well on the goal, and had a pair of tackles up front as well as Juve pressed and forced Sassuolo into mistakes. Did well to move into the space vacated when David dropped deep.
KENAN YILDIZ – 6.5. Hit the target with five shots out of six, and made Arijanet Muric work hard on a few of them. Had to cede the creative responsibilities a bit because he was constantly double-teamed when the ball came to him.
JONATHAN DAVID – 7.5. Made six key passes, often dropping deeper to feed Yildiz or Miretti, and pressed incredibly well. His work rate was tremendous, constantly forcing mistakes like the one by Jay Idzes that gifted him his goal. A couple of those key passes were neat, no-look flicks without needing any other touches. Could this be a turning point for him? Obviously the answer will come in his next matches, but to have the mental fortitude to come up with this performance after the fusillade of criticism he endured over the weekend is a great sign.
SUBS
LOÏS OPENDA – 5. Only touched the ball four times in 16 minutes, and didn’t complete either of his pass attempts. The push in form we saw from him hasn’t re-emerged when he’s come off the bench.
JOÃO MÁRIO – 6. Holy crap, a João Mário sighting! Got a shot off late but mostly held the course as Juve went to close the game out.
JUAN CABAL – NR. Had a tackle as he saw out the night on the left flank.
VASILIJE ADZIC – NR. Uneventful few minutes on the pitch as the match wound down.
EDON ZHEGROVA – NR. Odd to see him come out for a cameo like this given the situation, instead of perhaps giving someone like Pedro Felipe a taste of the field.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
Injuries forced Luciano Spalletti back into a 3-4-2-1 after a successful (in terms of the flow of the game, if not the result) test of a 4-2-3-1 against Lecce. What didn’t change was the team’s attitude, which is a testament to how Spalletti has this team working mentally. A result like Saturday’s could’ve seen Juventus come in with a serious lack of energy, especially at the Mapei Stadium, a bogey ground where they hadn’t won since 2022. But after a brief moment at the beginning of the game, they looked like the same guys who blitzed Lecce for 90 minutes.
Just like the weekend, Juve are playing quicker passes and look far more willing to make a riskier pass into a dangerous area as opposed to simply moving the ball around laterally. Spalletti has improved this team’s mindset and tactical setup in a relatively short amount of time, and as we head into the ritorna the team looks better positioned to battle near the top of the table than they did when Spalletti took over.
LOOKING AHEAD
Juve head back home to kick off the ritorna with a Monday home game against Cremonese, who they beat 2-1 in November. Then They take a trip to Cagliari before Champions League play resumes with a critical home match against Benfica.
Category: General Sports
