Juve were involved in another game of the proverbial two halves against Cypriot champions Pafos in Turin on Wednesday evening.
Underperforming Juventus, rotated by manager Luciano Spalletti, were outplayed during the opening 45 minutes by Pafos. Many home supporters inside the Allianz Stadium frustratingly jeered the Bianconeri off at half time, with the visitors having enjoyed the opening half with a plethora of enterprising threats on goal.
Spalletti, who has frequently had to tweak his tactics for a second-half onslaught like they achieved at Bodo/Glimt in Norway and last weekend at Antonio Conte's Napoli, made wily tactical changes to tackle the next 45 minutes.
Bringing on lively winger Francisco Conceicao for the pretty ineffective Edon Zhegrova that took Juve to a new dimension, which resulted in American ace Weston McKennie breaking the deadlock on 67 minutes.
Five minutes later, with Vasilije Adzic stripping off on the sidelines to replace Jonathan David, the Canadian goal poacher doubled Juve's lead before being substituted.
Juventus were brimming with confidence following their purple patch, with their fans cheering them off at the final whistle. This result could be the start of something special for the Bianconeri, who tackle highflying Bologna this weekend followed by the visit of AS Roma on 20 December.
'Embarrassing' Bianconeri against Pafos
A relieved looking Spalletti admitted to Sky Sports Italia after the tie: “It was fundamental to get the win, so with a victory many things look better. We relaxed a little after the break and were calmer on the ball in making those decisions.
“Analysing the match, of course we need to do more ... the lads are not happy with themselves. Some situations in the first half were frankly embarrassing.
"I wanted to make some changes in the first half too, but was worried about making things more confusing for the players. It is something we had tried in training, so it worked very well. We were more organised, more determined to take home the win.
"We allowed Pafos too much in the first half. We also made some cheap errors. Sometimes it is incredible seeing the mistakes made, realising that our players cannot take advantage of those situations. But this is where we’re at right now.
“It’s true we are having some difficulties defending, but clearly we need to get a right-footed center-back available again, because [Pierre] Kalulu ought to be a full-back, and Weston [McKennie] s filling in at the moment.
"[Andrea] Cambiaso too is a very attacking player. But if he needs to defend against muscular runners he has some difficulties, as his strengths are going forward.
Spalletti hits out at unhappy Juve players
He explained in his post-match press conference: "It was crucial to win. It's clear we have to do more, we're not happy.
"At the end of the first half we talked about the situations we experienced. When we have the ball, we're the ones who have to take control to manage the game.
"At times we did the bare minimum ... in the second half we relaxed a bit more and had more composure in dealing with everything.
"You can tell this [victory] is a unique moment. Perhaps with this win we can tap into our capabilities. If we lose our balance, it's a risk, as happened tonight."