Juventus put up an almost perfect display against an adventurous Malmo side at the Eleda Stadium, eventually winning the game by a comfortable 3-0 scoreline (thanks to goals from Alex Sandro, Paulo Dybala, and Alvaro Morata).
Not only did the victory mark a stainless start to Bianconeri’s UEFA Champions League campaign, but it was also the first triumph in a competitive game this season for Massimiliano Allegri’s men.
Malmo, driven by their recent success in the qualifying rounds, started the game brightly. Yet, they failed to better the quality of a Juventus team brimming with individual talents and returning South American stars.
Allegri chose to field his team in a 4-4-2 formation, with Danilo, Alex Sandro, Juan Cuadrado, Paulo Dybala, and Rodrigo Bentancur all starting following their absence in the Serie A fixture against Napoli last Saturday.
Now that Juventus have got their first win of the 2021/22 season and three points on the opening day of the Champions League, the Old Lady can breathe a little bit easier. Here, we take a look at the three key takeaways from the game.
[Please note that this is a slideshow, which means you will have to press on the “next” button visible down the first page or at the top-right of the page to access the next slide.]
1. This was possibly Juventus’ best line-up on duty
Juventus will lock horns with AC Milan next Sunday. And it would be quite surprising if the set of players, who started the game against Malmo, weren’t to take the field from the very first minute of the match against the red half of Milano. Considering every aspect, this was a flawless performance from a perfectly lined-up Juventus side.
Wojciech Szczęsny remained fairly untested till the very last minute of the game. The coveted clean sheet will help the custodian strengthen his belief at the end of the day. Juventus centre-back pairing of Matthijs de Ligt and Leonardo Bonucci was also commendable. The only thing that went against de Ligt was the referee, who booked him at the 58th-minute of the game.
Two full-backs in Danilo and Alex Sandro did their job, with the former sometimes sitting deep and forming a back three with the designated centre-halves and the latter bombing down the left side to provide Juve with an extra body in and around the box. It was Sandro’s bursting run forward that gave Juventus the lead in the first half.
Juan Cuadrado, as always, was inspiring — perhaps the most important player on the pitch for the visitors after the goalscorers. To appreciate and analyse the midfield trio of Manuel Locatelli, Adrien Rabiot and Rodrigo Bentancur, we have prepared a separated segment. In one word, they were instrumental.
Then came the pair of Paulo Dybala, who was a bit frazzled at times but grew as the game went on, and Alvaro Morata, who, proving his ilk of being a poacher in front of the goal, scored a goal and won the penalty from where La Joya extended the lead.
A perfect night for Juve epitomised the perfect starting line-up for the Piedmontese side. If the same starting XI weren’t to get the chance to showcase their valour against AC Milan, it would be pretty harsh on the mentioned players. Even if Federico Chiesa is back and available.
2. Manuel Locatelli stole the show alongside Rabiot and Bentancur
In the summer, Juventus authorities encountered Sassuolo authorities in countless meetings, not for only drinking coffee and having a chat about football and life beyond that but for haggling over Manuel Locatelli’s transfer price. We all know the stories.
Some say the Old Lady overdid it with their attempt to bring in the former AC Milan midfielder. It was as if Juve were desperate to get the deal over the line this summer. Well, now we get to see why they tried so hard to secure the services of Manuel Locatelli, a breakout star for Italy in the delayed Euro 2020.
Locatelli dictated the play for I Bianconeri last night, but with the help of Adrien Rabiot and, of course, Rodrigo Bentancur.
Other than that, it appeared as if the partnership between Bentancur and Locatelli had gelled quite well, with Locatelli sometimes being the deep-rooted midfielder and Bentancur playing slightly ahead of him or vice versa.
Adrien Rabiot played down the left in the same position he is seen playing for his national team, France. With the ball on his feet, he made a few very threatening, line-breaking darts into Malmo’s territory. But owing to the shortage of offensive bodies in the majority of scenarios, those runs turned out to be futile.
According to the stats from FBref.com, Rabiot and Bentancur won three tackles (most in the game from both teams) each, while Locatelli had two to his name.
Rabiot’s efforts didn’t ignore the eyes of Allegri, either. In the post-match press conference, he heaped praise on the Frenchman by saying (quotes taken from @BianconeriZone Twitter),
"“Rabiot has an extraordinary engine, he doesn’t even know what qualities it has. When he starts with his run, he takes you away. He has also done well technically. His fitness is improving.”"
3. Pressing could’ve been better
Nothing is perfect — surely not in football. One thing — or vulnerability, as you can say — in Allegri’s plan that has caught the eyes of many since the beginning of his returning regime at Juventus is the lack of intensity shown by players while pressing an opponent or how dysfunctional and discrete their pressing has been thus far.
On Tuesday night, the overall notion was the same. Juventus, under Allegri, have never been the team that prefers pressing from the front. Forming up in the 4-4-2 structure last night, the frontmen in Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala looked unenthusiastic while closing down an opposing defender. While the Spaniard was trying to lead a well-orchestrated press, Dybala seemed lukewarm in his attempt to win the ball back.
For the first few minutes hence, Malmo totally dominated the possession and created quite a few openings. Only their end product to test the goalkeeper didn’t come.
After the first phase of pressing by the forwards, it was Locatelli’s turn to roam and run the press. Due to his nonchalant dynamism, he did succeed in that to some extent.
However, if we gauge their formula of pressing from a broader point of view, it looked dysfunctional and individual-based rather than being an embodiment of the collective effort from the players.
Therefore, there lies a huge room in the pressing department which Juventus could improve in future. Though, it was quite an authoritative performance to garner their first competitive win of the campaign.