Juventus: 3 takeaways from the 2-0 win over Roma

Juventus maintained their bright start to 2021 with a 2-0 victory over Roma at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday evening.

Freshly-turned 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo continued to prove himself as the real-life Benjamin Button by opening the scoring with a pinpoint effort from outside the area in the opening period before Roger Ibanez turned Dejan Kulusevski’s cross into his own net to seal a comfortable victory for the Old Lady.

The result sees Juve leapfrog the Giallorossi into third in Serie A.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s duel.

Giorgio Chiellini and the defensive wall

While questions could arise regarding Leonardo Bonucci’s ability to perform at the elite level in 2021, there’s no doubting King Kong, Giorgio Chiellini.

Another shut-out ensued for a Chiellini-inspired Juve backline in this one, meaning they’ve now kept three on the bounce in Serie A. The old master, meanwhile, was instrumental in taming the third-most prolific outfit in Italy this season. From celebrating the simplest of defensive actions, the wise decision-making to displaying the controlled aggression which helped him forge a career as an elite defender for the best part of a decade, this was a vintage Chiellini display. His expert positioning helped him to six clearances in the bout, more than any other player.

However, the Bianconeri’s collective defensive performance is worth a mention too.

Roma’s ability to create overloads and superiorities in the build-up phase ensured that Juve’s press was pretty ineffective. The Giallorossi were able to progress upfield at relative ease. That, combined with Juve’s struggles at retaining possession – due to an initially shrewd Roma press – and direct approach with the ball meant that it was, in fact, the visitors who enjoyed more possession – particularly in the first half. Thus, Juve’s settled block was put to the test for large swathes.

Every individual, though, was diligent in their defensive work. The cover shadows of Federico Chiesa – who’s work rate was immense – and Weston McKennie often blocked off Roma’s primary route of progression and penetration (the half-spaces) while the midfield pivot tracked the runs of the visitors’ roaming creators admirably.

Overall, while Roma huffed and puffed throughout and enjoyed a fairly dangerous spell in the dying embers, Juve’s stout and compact defensive shape ensured that Wojciech Szczęsny was rarely called into action.

Exploiting a high line

Roma’s humiliating 3-0 defeat in the recent Derby della Capitale saw Lazio’s verticality and swift combinations overwhelm the Giallorossi’s high defensive line.

With Paulo Fonseca’s side maintaining a similarly aggressive line in this one, Juve looked to penetrate in a similar vein to Lazio. For the most part, slow build-up play was ditched in favour of a more direct approach.

Thus, balls from defence were constantly fired into the feet of Alvaro Morata or in behind the Roma backline. Combinations between Morata and Ronaldo proved effective, and although Juve weren’t able to create at will, the chances they did create were often high-quality, unlike Roma.

This change in emphasis highlighted Andrea Pirlo’s willingness to adapt to his opponents.

Impact from the bench

The dynamic of the contest completely altered after half-time.

A high-pressing Roma became a passive, more organised unit after the break, which forced Juve to slow things down in possession. The hosts established more control but were struggling to progress due to the new-found screening abilities of Roma’s midfield – who proved more effective at shutting off Morata & Co’s supply between the lines.

So, although Roma had less of the ball after the restart, it’s fair to say that they looked more of a threat. Well, up until Roger Ibanez did Roger Ibanez things. Only messing, he’s quite a talent.

Nevertheless, it was the combination of two Pirlo substitutes who sealed the three points for the Old Lady. Juan Cuadrado, brought on in midfield, slid a perfectly-weighted through ball from the right into Morata replacement Kulusevski, who ran off Amadou Diawara expertly, before the Swede’s cut-back was forced into his own net by a despairing Ibanez.