De Sciglio comes up trumps again
McKennie’s header, which was a carbon copy of his finish in the Supercoppa, was made possible by the forward foray and delivery of Mattia De Sciglio.
Expectations were low of De Sciglio heading into the season and he rarely featured in the opening weeks of the campaign. But, assists in back-to-back games against AS Roma and Zenit started to morph our perceptions of the versatile and steady full-back to the point where we were genuinely frustrated by his month-long injury lay-off in November.
The Italian returned before the winter break and he’s now started Juve’s last two games following his unlikely heroics in the capital two Sundays ago. His strike that sealed an improbable comeback against the Giallorossi was his first since 2017!
On Saturday, De Sciglio replaced the streaky Luca Pellegrini and provided a more reliable source of width down Juve’s left than the natural left-footer. He constantly ventured forward and this willingness to contribute in the attacking third paid off when Paulo Dybala picked him out in acres of space just inside the Udinese box. His subsequent delivery was pinpoint for the afro-donning McKennie, who headed home with aplomb.
That sequence was one of three shot-creating actions De Sciglio registered during his 34 minutes of action.
He’s unironically becoming a more than handy player for Allegri. The Italian’s proved in his appearances this season that he’s measured in defence, particularly in one-vs-on situations, and versatile, while his ability to deliver crosses off both feet is an invaluable asset going forward.