Match Coverages
What went wrong in Napoli-Juve for Juventus?
Juventus played Napoli on the 3rd matchday of the 2021 Serie A season at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The Bianconeri were playing without many key players including Chiesa, Danilo, Cuadrado and Dybala.
Alvaro Morata scored in the 10th minute of the game giving Juventus the lead. But the lead was short-lived as 2 goals from Politano and Koulibaly in the second half secured 3 points for the Naples side. Today, we take a look at the problems and mistakes that cost us the game.
Wojciech Szczęsny
At this point, it seems like a thing for every matchday. The Juventus number 1 goalkeeper made a blunder leading to the first goal. While for the second goal, he couldn’t do much, but his lack of judgment during the whole match proved harmful for the team. With each passing day as the Szczęsny’s form deteriorates, the absence of Buffon hurts more and more. Allegri needs to put Perin in the starting lineup now. A little game time for Mattia Perin and space for Tek to clear his head is a necessity.
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Lack of possession
Juventus had 32 per cent possession during the whole game. It’s embarrassing that the players failed to keep the ball. In the last spell of Allegri, the Old Lady was symbolized with boring defensive-minded football, but at least that won us games. For a team that has failed to keep a clean sheet in the last 16 matches, it’s no shocker that we keep on losing the ball to opposition players.
Shots taken
Juve had 8 shots compared to Napoli’s 25. The lack of possession was pretty much the cause behind this poor show. Luckily for us, Napoli’s players had poor finishing. Otherwise, with the number of chances they created, and the corners they won, we might have lost to a big margin.
Lack of proper substitution
Allegri made 3 changes during the game. It’s no secret that Juventus had very few options on the bench given that a lot of players were out for the match. Moreover, the substitutions made by Allegri didn’t work out as well. With De ligt and Kean coming on, we expected a better defense and attack. But the expectations went down the drain. Kean almost went on to score an own goal before Koulibaly scored from the rebound.
No chemistry in midfield
The midfield of Rabiot, McKennie and Locatelli didn’t have the spark that we needed to turn the game in our favour. While Locatelli presented himself to us with some very beautiful passes, overall the midfield was lacking. The forwards failed to step up in order to come back after losing the lead, but the midfield didn’t step up either. The addition of Ramsey didn’t prove fruitful at all.
Predictable play
For the past few seasons, we have said it many times that Juventus’s style of play is very predictable. The lack of finishing by the forwards makes the scenario even worse. After a point in the match, it looked like that counterattack would be the only plan to get back in the game due to lack of possession. But the players failed to make a difference. The inability of players to get the ball inside the box without losing it cost us the game.
Fatigue
Almost 17 Juventus players were on duty for their nations during the international break. By the second half, the slow tempo by the players suggested that they were getting tired. And the way Napoli was pressing so high made room for mistakes. Although, their engagement with the national team is definitely not an excuse for their horrible performance.
Lack of ambition
Half of the players on the pitch don’t deserve to wear the Juventus jersey. The lack of grinta after losing the lead is the prime reason why Juventus lost the game. The players didn’t work hard to press and overturn the mistakes. As the Juve spirit continued to vanish from our players, the game slipped away from our hands.
To conclude
Juventus secured 1 point from the 9 points available. We are definitely in a dark pit that we need to get out of. Each and every player needs to step up, and Allegri has to reanalyse his tactics again. If we aim to win trophies this season, the whole team needs to leave no stone unturned and give their best. These losses and mistakes could cost us in the final days if we don’t make a comeback now. It’s now up to the management and the players to make sure we get back to the winning track.
Fino Alla Fine.
