Juventus effort leaving much to be desired despite Serie A win streak
Juventus' Max Allegri plays up the importance of reversing their fortunes against Milan ahead of Juve's trip to the San Siro.
Despite Juventus' three wins after the disastrous loss to Lazio, neither the fans nor coach Massimiliano Allegri are happy with performances that are simply not up to the standard expected from this side.
"If we play like this at San Siro and repeat this performance against Milan, then we will certainly lose," Allegri told Mediaset Premium after Juve's win over SPAL.
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The Bianconeri may have scored four but they conceded one and came close to conceding another against a side that should not have found it so easy to slice through Juve's defence. With players unmarked in the box and defenders failing when man-marking their opponent, Juve are embarrassingly fragile at the back. They will concede many more against a better side if they continue to perform as they have done.
Allegri was keen to point that out, ensuring that no one celebrated the 4-1 win. While the poor defending is concerning, his main issue is attitude. Juve's performance was frustrating in a variety of ways for it lacked concentration and intensity.
For example, every time the Bianconeri looked capable of causing a threat through the counter-attack, they slowed down, preferring to keep the ball rather than step on the accelerator and overwhelm the opponent to create more, score more and ensure the points.
If keeping possession was their concern, perhaps they should have shielded the ball better rather than conceding it so cheaply. The Bianconeri were dispossessed 12 times as SPAL tackled and intercepted well. At times, SPAL didn't even need to put any effort in, they could have simply waited to jump on to a stray pass to create threats of their own going forward. The minnows had played both Napoli and Milan before coming to Turin and didn't manage to win back possession in either game with as much ease as they managed against the Old Lady.
Juventus lacked precision, concentration and genuine fight. The superior technique alone was all they needed to earn three points against such an opponent, albeit a wily one. There were signs of such complacency at certain stages last season when Juve would surrender all interest in the match once they realised their superiority.
Juve insists no one celebrated a complacent 4-1 win over SPAL, but Federico Bernardesch has been a bright spot.
However, it's vital that the team play with dogged determination throughout their remaining matches this year, regardless of the opponent. This is proving to be a tough season with Juve facing genuine challengers for the Scudetto, not the pretenders they have batted away with relative ease these past six years.
Napoli show no signs of slowing down and Inter are a team capable of suffering and defending as an Italian side should. Both have a genuine chance of pushing for the title. The Partenopei have all but admitted that they value league wins over Champions League points and the Nerazzurri have only one match a week to contend with so they are bound to get better as they introduce more fluency to their attacking game.
However, it's not all doom and gloom in the Juve camp. There were positives that came out of the win that should help the side to feel confident ahead of the challenge with Milan. Douglas Costa is developing nicely, providing the incisiveness required of him. Federico Bernardeschi is playing with confidence, showing off his talent when given the opportunity. Meanwhile, Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala scored against SPAL, the first time they both managed to get on the scoresheet since February, when they defeated Napoli 3-1.
Juventus is also somewhat of a goal-scoring machine this season, managing 31 goals in their opening 10 games, more than any side has managed since the 1951-52 season. They will be hoping they continue to find the back of the net when they meet Milan next in the San Siro.
A team that has hurt Juve before, this is a Rossoneri side that few can adequately analyse. They have numerous talented players, youth and a good coach but they have yet to establish an identity or a clear plan of action. Confusion still reigns supreme while their defence, much like Juve's, has looked suspect on more than one occasion.
Sadly, for the overall entertainment factor, Leonardo Bonucci will be suspended for the match and the jury is out on whether that will prove to be good or bad. Once an intimidating presence at the back for Juventus, Bonucci is a shadow of himself in the Rossoneri jersey, making the types of errors we never thought possible. Perhaps he misses Juventus as much as they miss him.
Vincenzo Montella is likely to stick with a three man back-line, while Allegri should once again deploy the 4-2-3-1 formation with Mario Mandzukic and Juan Cuadrado in the wide areas. It looks like the old guard will be entrusted with defeating a familiar foe but when it comes to these two tacticians, the result may well depend on the substitutions and changes made within the game that secures the points.
Mina Rzouki covers Juventus and the Italian national team for ESPN FC. Follow her on Twitter: @Minarzouki.
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Source: espn.co.uk
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