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Juventus 1-0 Fiorentina: 3 takeaways as the Bianconeri win late & ugly

By James Cormack

TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 06: Juan Cuadrado of Juventus FC celebrates a goal during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and ACF Fiorentina at Allianz Stadium on November 6, 2021 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 06: Juan Cuadrado of Juventus FC celebrates a goal during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and ACF Fiorentina at Allianz Stadium on November 6, 2021 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images) /
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McKennie’s purple patch

Weston McKennie is currently in a rich vein of form. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
Weston McKennie is currently in a rich vein of form. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images) /

Allegri was full of praise for Weston McKennie ahead of Saturday’s game and the American continued his fine run of form.

Deployed once more alongside Locatelli, McKennie added thrust from a box-to-box role. He’s starting to develop an understanding with Chiesa and Paulo Dybala, with much of Juve’s bright attacking play early on coming as a result of efficient rotations down the right.

McKennie looked like a player currently enjoying a purple patch against La Viola. After scoring in the defeats to Sassuolo and Hellas Verona, he starred without scoring against Zenit and it was a similar story in this one. He’s playing with a swagger is McKennie, and his wonderful pirouetting sequence in the first-half best displayed such confidence.

The midfielder remains a menace without the ball in all phases. His movement is so intelligent, and his intensity in the defensive phase can only be rivalled by the relentless Chiesa. On Saturday, McKennie led the team with seven (!) tackles and ranked fourth with 15 pressures. When Juventus press high, so often is he the man to seize back possession high upfield. The Texan is crucial in this regard.

As Allegri said pre-match, McKennie is currently performing at a higher level than his midfield counterparts. He’s enjoying a run of form that rivals his brilliant start to life in Turin at the start of last season.

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