Juventus: 3 takeaways from a dream win over Bologna

Juventus have done it. They have qualified for the 2021-2022 Champions League after it seemed like they would not make it to this point when they lost 3-0 to Milan at the Allianz Stadium. Since then, Juve have beaten Sassuolo, Inter, and now Bologna in the league, scoring at least three goals in each of those wins. And just this past Wednesday, they defeated Atalanta in the Coppa Italia Final in an exceptional performance.

But their display against Bologna at the Renato Dall’Ara this Sunday night was even better. They won 4-1, playing arguably their best attacking football of the entire season, even without Capocannoniere winner Cristiano Ronaldo in the lineup.

Here are three takeaways from a win that, combined with Napoli’s draw with Verona, sends Juventus to the Champions League.

Juventus can play beautiful attacking football under Andrea Pirlo

Count this as a takeaway in concert with what we saw against Atalanta. Juventus showed the world this week that under Andrea Pirlo, they are indeed capable of producing the kind of football the regista dreamed about in his thesis. We saw Paulo Dybala at his creative best, orchestrating attacks and producing moments of magic. For the first time this season, it felt like Juventini were treated to the full Dybala experience.

Dejan Kulusevski and Federico Chiesa were very much parts of the show, just as they were at mid-week in the Coppa Italia Final. And then there was Alvaro Morata, who scored twice and was pretty much in unplayable form for the overwhelmed Bologna defense.

Juventus were disappointing offensively for much of the season, plodding through most games with no ideas. But they were effervescent on Sunday night at the Renato Dall’Ara. You can’t help but wonder if they’d have been in the title race on the final day if Dybala were not so unlucky with injuries.