Opinions
Opinion: Did Juventus under-perform this season?
Juventus season ended on Saturday with a 2-0 defeat against Fiorentina. The Bianconeri have finished fourth in the league, gaining 70 points. The Bianconeri won 20 of 38 games, drew 10 and lost 8.
Did the squad and Max Allegri under-perform this season? No, in my opinion, The management didn’t back Allegri in the summer market, only signing 2 players and that too in August. Cristiano Ronaldo left the club and he was replaced by Moise Kean, which we can all agree is a massive downgrade. Juventus dropped 10 points in the first four games of the season, the Bianconeri only achieved 2 draws from first four games. Those 10 points were the reason, Juventus weren’t fighting for the title. Massimiliano Allegri needed time to know this squad as much of it had changed compared to his first spell. Juventus also suffered from goalkeeping errors in those games.
When the squad started to gain momentum, Chiesa scoring against Spezia and winning two penalties against Lazio, also scoring at home against Chelsea. He suddenly suffered an ACL which ruled him out for the whole season. This was a huge blow for Juventus, Chiesa is the only player in this squad who has the ability to beat any defender 1v1. Not only this, after the Chiesa injury, the Dybala drama started. Dybala was constantly missing 1,2 games a month due to his fitness. Also, his contract talks created tensions.
In January, Allegri was backed by the squad but it was too late, as Juventus were already 10 points behind Inter. After January, the Bianconeri went on a great run before loosing to Inter which completely ended the Scudetto hopes. The club achieved the top four and the focus was simply not there in the last 3 games, as they lost to Genoa, drew Lazio and lost to Fiorentina. 8 points were dropped in last 3 games. So, if you look at it, Juventus dropped 10 points in first four games, 8 points in last three games. 18 points were dropped during the start and end of the campaign. This is the reason, why Juventus didn’t won the title.
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Max Allegri had to deal with many injuries as well, at times, no midfielder other than Rabiot and Zakaria was fit, Locatelli and Mckennie missed over a month due to injuries. Arthur fitness was a concern as well. So, considering all this, I think fourth spot is what’s deserved, we could have achieved more if the start had been right and the focus was on last three games.
