Juventus: 3 takeaways from a huge win over Lazio
Juventus came from behind to claim a huge victory against Lazio on Saturday night, eventually running out 3-1 victors after Joaquin Correa had given his side an early lead.
A stuttering Bianconeri pegged the Bianconcelesti back before half-time through Adrien Rabiot, before a swift blitz in three second-half minutes from Alvaro Morata saw the hosts take the game away from Simone Inzaghi’s men.
Here are three takeaways from Juve’s win.
Tinkerman
While we saw Andrea Pirlo make adjustments last weekend in a bid to match-up with Ivan Juric’s Hellas Verona, tonight represented the greatest systematic switch of Il Maestro’s reign thus far.
In possession, Juve looked to build from the back in a 4-1 structure as opposed to a 3-1 or 3-2. Both full-backs were conservative in their positioning throughout (likely to mitigate the threat posed by Lazio in transition), with width provided by the wingers. Swiss army knife Danilo, meanwhile, functioned as a lone pivot, just behind marauding ‘free eight’ tandem Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey. The pair were tasked with making penetrative runs from midfield, particularly looking to exploit the spaces that opened up between Lazio’s wing-backs and exterior centre-backs.
It was a 4-1-2-3 structure with the ball, while their shape out of possession remained the same.
Nevertheless, it took a while for Juve to adjust to their new systematic surroundings. In the opening exchanges, the hosts look flustered, bewildered. Their positional play was all over the place and it almost felt overly fluid. There was no resemblance of an attacking structure.
However, as the minutes passed by and after Correa had given the visitors a deserved lead, Pirlo’s side settled down and they quickly discovered a rhythm. The combinations started to flow, interchanges started to boggle and space was created at regularity.
A key alteration, though, was made off the ball after the restart. In the second period, Juve didn’t commit Danilo to the press (he followed Luis Alberto deep into Lazio’s third in the first half which opened up space for the visitors to exploit between the lines) and instead, the Brazilian dropped into a deeper position, which reduced the efficiency of Lazio’s build-up.
This subtle adjustment proved crucial in Juve’s impressive second-half display, and in what was a pretty messy, transition-heavy, entertaining encounter, the Bianconeri were able to come out on top.
Arthur returns but Rabiot stakes his claim
Arthur Melo’s return following a lengthy absence is wonderful news for Juventini. However, the metronomic Brazilian may have his work cut out in regards to earning his place back in Pirlo’s XI after Rabiot’s performance tonight.
The nonchalant Frenchman went through the motions in the 3-0 victory over Spezia last week but turned on the style tonight in what was one of his finest performances of the campaign. He shone in what was a relatively free role against the Biancocelesti, with his goal undoubtedly the highlight of the evening.
While the thunderous strike will obviously take prominence, Rabiot’s shrewd movement to breach the Lazio defence to create the opening shouldn’t go unnoticed. It’s the sort of run the Frenchman has made often in recent weeks – the build-up to Federico Chiesa’s away goal in Porto being another example – and he does it really well.
Hopefully, this is the start of a consistent run from the notoriously inconsistent midfielder.
Scudetto charge
Tonight’s bout was Juve’s last in what we described as a ‘season defining’ run of fixtures. Their form has been patchy after a brilliant start to 2021, but they’re still hanging on in the context of the Scudetto race.
Seven points separate the Bianconeri and league-leaders Inter Milan, who will certainly be very tough to catch. However, Antonio Conte will be well aware of the threat posed by calcio’s supreme force, and their victory tonight just adds a little more pressure to the Nerazzuri’s already important clash with Atalanta on Monday night.
Dropped points for Conte’s men against Gian Piero Gasperini & Co. means the sleeping giant in Turin will slowly begin to awake, especially with the Old Lady enjoying a favourable run of fixtures in the coming weeks before a grueling end to the campaign.
Victory over Lazio was huge for Pirlo, with the manner of their triumph suggesting that they’ll be there to the very end this season. It’s just a case of whether anyone can slow down Conte’s automated juggernaut over in Milan.