Re: Juventus 2017/2018 Serie A and Coppa Italia thread

[rincon]

Yes, Allegri keeps saying that its good and that he sees a lot of growth. Before the Fiore game he said that it wasn't too soon for Bernardeschi (meaning he was ready) but that he had to see the last training session and make some decisions.

Sooner or later we'll see him start matches regularly.

[Luca]

Really, we should be rotating the entire top four, including Higuain and Dybala. We have the depth to do so

Add in Pjaca at some point if he isn't loaned out in January, I think, or rather hope, he turns good still

[Luca]

Max Allegri believes Torino can get a top six finish this season, but warned Juventus that “a seventh consecutive Scudetto must be the primary objective.”

It kicks off on Saturday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).

“The fans were close to us on Wednesday, as they always are, but it must be clear that winning is not normal. It is always extraordinary and with each year that passes, winning becomes even more difficult,” said the Coach in his Press conference when asked if the fans now took victory for granted.

“Each season is different to the last and for us winning a seventh consecutive Scudetto must become the primary objective, because nobody has done that other than Lyon.

“We need enthusiasm in the club, the squad and the fans, because that’s only right. That’s how it should be.

“The Derby della Mole is always a special game for the city and the fans. It’s twice as important for us, because it’s a Derby and worth three points, so we must win.

“Torino are much stronger than they have been in the past, but Juve have good defenders who can counter the technical quality of their players. This season they brought in more solid players in defence and midfield too.

“Torino were already strong last season and have been completed with players suited to their character, like Tomas Rincon, Cristian Ansaldi and M’Baye Niang, so they can target a top six finish.”

Higuain has struggled in recent weeks and been criticised on social media, but Allegri stood up for his striker.

“The most important thing is that Higuain has total faith from his teammates, the Coach, the club and the fans. These periods happen to every striker when the ball doesn’t go in for two or three games, but he will break through.

“We have a lot of games to play, so there will always be some squad rotation, as that is the only way to reach March in good condition.

“What I can say is that Benedikt Howedes is out, as the entity of his injury will be evaluated, he had a muscular problem. Sami Khedira is back and will be available for Wednesday, Mattia De Sciglio had his four-week absence confirmed and we’ll evaluate him to see if there can be a short-cut.

“I can confirm Andrea Barzagli won’t play tomorrow. He played well on Wednesday, I prefer to have him fresher for the Champions League game. Being able to change players and the final result remains the same is because there’s such competition for places within the squad. It means everyone raises their game, their concentration levels and focus. That’s a wonderful thing.

“Blaise Matuidi has said about four words since he arrived in Turin, but he works hard, runs in a smart way and people don’t realise you need a certain degree of intelligence to play football. I think Matuidi will start tomorrow.

“Daniele Rugani has improved, he still needs to be more clinical when taking men on, to relax, and naturally he gains more experience the more he plays.”

[rincon]

Baselli being a dumbass really gave us the derby. We were (and are) playing nicely at least. Dybala, Pjanic, Cuadrado and Costa are looking good in attack.

[rincon]

Besides the obvious that everyone played awesome tonight, Bernardeschi and Bentancur

Two gems that will be key players

I liked Costa as well, very direct and energetic. He'll be more useful in open games in CL I think.

Dybala already at 10 goals and only september...

[rincon]

Pjanic out for 3-4 weeks. Misses Milan and Roma (iirc) plus both Sporting games.

Let's hope Bentancur and Matuidi stay fit and that Khedira came back well.

I think we might start to see some Sturaro at CM for resting the main guys at times during these games.

[Luca]

Pjanic out for 3-4 weeks. Misses Milan and Roma (iirc) plus both Sporting games.

Let's hope Bentancur and Matuidi stay fit and that Khedira came back well.

I think we might start to see some Sturaro at CM for resting the main guys at times during these games.

This is the worst thing that could happen

[Tomwin Lannister]

When's the last time we had a full strength team for more than 2 Weeks. 2012?

[Luca]

When's the last time we had a full strength team for more than 2 Weeks. 2012?

Last season we did very well in this area, which is a miracle considering how little depth we went through a 55+ match season with

I'm calm, Pjanic is not the player I wanted to lose because he's in world class form right now but so long as we have Matuidi, Bentancur and Khedira is nearing fitness then we will find a way through

If anything, it means more attacking play because we have even less of a chance fielding any more than 2 midfielders at once

[rincon]

Khedira is supposed to be bback and Marchisio is with the group now.

Hopefully those two resurface.

Bentancur sure got an unexpected level of protagonism right away

[Warrior]

Juve vs Milan is in exactly one month. If Pjanic miss only 3 weeks he will be there. By that date, everyone but Marko Pjaca #20 is supposed to be healthy again.

Also Marchisio is training with the group, but is he fit ?
If yes, no problem.
If he's not fit, it's another story. On sunday we have no choice but to field Matuidi-Bentancur. Or even a midfield 3: drop winger Mandzukic and give Sturaro a 46th chance to prove his worth.

[rincon]

There is no point in playing a mid 3 if the third mid is Sturaro and half the mids are injured. No doubt we will go forward with the front 4.

[Warrior]

I agree of course.

But i'm trying to predict, what is going on in Allegri's head. And you must know damn well that Sturaro is always in the back of his mind

[Luca]

One does not simply drop Mandzukic, it is at the point that he will actually bench Higuain

Although that can change and Allegri will rotate, as he said, everyone will miss games, even Dybala will take a day off one of these games

[rincon]

For tomorrow this is the news.

Expected 11:

Buffon; Asamoah/Sandro, Chiellini, Benatia, Licht; Matuidi, Bentancur; Mandzukic, Higuain, Dybala, Costa/Bernardeschi

LB and RW are the two positions uncertain apparently

[rincon]

I still think the same, Matuidi plays well again from an individual perspective but doesn't have proper positioning to cover our backline well enough like Marchisio and Khedira.

He doesn't understand the midfield two as well as the other guys.

[Tomwin Lannister]

When people are fully fit (Probably not happening for long) or when we get to next Summer, we need to get a top midfield 3 back. We look clueless without it at times, just outnumbered completely

And with the attacking options we have we really ought to be creating more clear cut chances. This is like a semi-dream team of a front 4 yet we make like 2 chances a game for Higuain and the rest is on Dybala to pull something out his ass.

[Warrior]

When people are fully fit (Probably not happening for long) or when we get to next Summer, we need to get a top midfield 3 back. We look clueless without it at times, just outnumbered completely

And with the attacking options we have we really ought to be creating more clear cut chances. This is like a semi-dream team of a front 4 yet we make like 2 chances a game for Higuain and the rest is on Dybala to pull something out his ass.

i've finally found an ally

Pjanic-Marchisio-Matuidi
Pjanic-Matuidi-Khedira or Bentancur

We have some combinations that could work against a rival like Napoli/Europe. But our double pivot that we always use... i've seen enough honestly. 3 attackers is sufficient to be entertaining and offensive.

Tired of seeing Pjanic in a role that suits only when all the possible circumstances are on his side. Same for Khedira. The 3-0 win vs Barca was the only real highlight of this 4-2-3-1.

4-2-3-1 is a formation that works best when the double pivot is 2 players that are "a defense before the defense", while one of them can also create. Pjanic & Matuidi is far from that. That's one guy who makes a defensive effort but also has problems in tackling ability paired with Matuidi who doesn't even understand the role, apparently. Against Barcelona, Lazio and Real Madrid our midfield was the footbalistic incarnation of a kitchen strainer.

4-3-3 christmas tree please, best formation for 2017-2018 JUVENTUS

[Luca]

I have also been in favour of a midfield three.

However, a 4-2-3-1 is just fine for 80% of our matches, especially in Italy. It's really offensive and it allows us to maximize our attacking strength

I think we saw today why Bernardeschi hasn't really started, he wasn't that good and maybe for his first start to be in a match as difficult as this, it was expected. He still scored and got an assist so its not really the worst debut and I don't mean to be harsh on him, I'm only critical because I have very high expectations. How Cuadrado operates in the formation is what we want from Bernardeschi.

Douglas Costa was really good when he came on, it was amazing to see how he never gave the ball away despite taking on so many players, very positive substitution. I'm officially a fan of Douglas Costa, he's immense.

Bentancur has the calmness of of prime Pirlo ffs, he never makes the wrong decision on the field. He's great.

I think the poorest on the night were: Asamoah and Mandzukic, what an awful display on the left side. Mandzukic is unlucky not to have a goal after a joke use of VAR, it was a foul in truth but at what lengths. Could you imagine the reverse happening? In fact, I would love to use VAR to review the foul that led to Atalanta's first goal, but this, apparently, is not its intention. I won't credit or blame VAR for today, it took away a goal from us (fairly), it gifted us a penalty (not clear for me).

Dybala, almost an assist and could have scored a winner, but instead was a loser tonight. I'm sorry to say it but I have to say it because we have become so Dybala centric that nights like this will happen. It seems like every play must go through him and the issue with that he's not at that level, only Messi is, or like what Papu Gomez is to Atalanta, albeit on a much smaller scale than Messi to Barcelona. Dybala got outclassed by his counterpart in Gomez. He was man handled. I don't remember him even having a proper shot on goal (?) but maybe I am exaggerating, extremely underwhelming to say the least from our #10, icon, best player, future ballon d'or, 250M player, and all sorts of monikers and superlatives that he does not yet deserve.

Higuain, take a bow son. People were already starting to say he's finished, scored again and it was a greatly taken goal with a world class shot that if the keeper got behind, he would've ended up inside of the net with the ball

https://streamable.com/x0b9i

[Warrior]

Missed the game because of work.

I see VAR is still well biased against Juve. We have legit goals canceled, imaginary penalties called against... some flagrant hustle this.

Bernardeschi would have been more fit if he actually played more than 60 minutes distributed in 6 games Mandzukic as a winger is an old idea, it has limits and it seems like they where shown tonight (again). He is a back up CF imo, and preferably not in this useless role he was given versus Olympiakos.

Great goal by Higuain, it's not too late for the capocannoniere title. FORZA JUVE

[rincon]

Bernardeschi was great. He played his first start and got a goal and an assist in the first half. He was killing it until Licht came off. That was the biggest problem we had, the full backs.

The second half we had Asamoah and Barzagli who make us look awful with Mandzu and Berna. We need proper FB that overlap and stretch the game. Desperately need De Sciglio back so the alternative to Licht isn't a CB or Sturaro.

If we play with inadequate FBs then Costa and Cuadrado are better.

Costa for how cool he dribbles needs to create some end product. He is our only forward so far with no goals or assists.

Still we created 3 goals and a penalty away to Atalanta. That should be enough to win the game. The defense needs to be better. Buffon's mistake and Matuidi being everywhere (and Benatia) made us weak.

There were times when Dybala came all the way down to the CBs to receive the ball because Bentancur was being pressed well. Where the *bleep* was Matuidi these times? He needs to be further back in a double pivot. It made Dybala play way too far from goal and end up having the possession stats of a midfielder (just below Bentancur and well ahead of Matuidi).

[juvealbanian]

___________________HIGUAIN

D.COSTA__________DYBALA_____BERNARDESCHI

____________PJANIC_______MARCHISIO

A.SANDRO__CHIELLINI___RUGANI___CUADRADO

____________________BUFFON

By far the best formation we'll have if we had all the new players adapted to our team and if we had everyone healthy.

In midfield we are a mess right now. We played Matuidi and Bentancur, and none of our former midfielders is available.We should have brought another top mid as it would be a mess if we find ourselves in such cinditions in CHL.
Lots of our creativity upfront relies on Dybala so we have to make sure we adapt Berna and Costa quickly.
Also without Sandro on left and with no offensive player at right-back we were quite poor pushing forward.Not sure why Allegri had to sub Berna with Cuadrado when he could have played them both.

I like Bentancur , he looks like a 30 y old midfielder and always keeps it safe.Making no mistakes will help him grow and Allegri seems to like that.

[Andrew]

Costa - Higuain - Dybala

Alex Sandro - Marchisio - Pjanic - Cuadrado

Chiellini - Rugani - Howedes

Buffon

Come at me brahs

[rincon]

2 plans for different situations

Higuain
Mandzukic - Dybala - Costa
Marchisio - Pjanic

Higuain - Dybala
Bernardeschi
Matuidi - Marchisio - Pjanic

[Luca]

Bernardeschi was great. He played his first start and got a goal and an assist in the first half. He was killing it until Licht came off. That was the biggest problem we had, the full backs.

The second half we had Asamoah and Barzagli who make us look awful with Mandzu and Berna. We need proper FB that overlap and stretch the game. Desperately need De Sciglio back so the alternative to Licht isn't a CB or Sturaro.

If we play with inadequate FBs then Costa and Cuadrado are better.

Costa for how cool he dribbles needs to create some end product. He is our only forward so far with no goals or assists.

Still we created 3 goals and a penalty away to Atalanta. That should be enough to win the game. The defense needs to be better. Buffon's mistake and Matuidi being everywhere (and Benatia) made us weak.

There were times when Dybala came all the way down to the CBs to receive the ball because Bentancur was being pressed well. Where the *bleep* was Matuidi these times? He needs to be further back in a double pivot. It made Dybala play way too far from goal and end up having the possession stats of a midfielder (just below Bentancur and well ahead of Matuidi).

I think if Douglas Costa continues on like this then the goals and assists will come but I don't expect him to fill the stat sheet, he seems more of a player who makes the pass before the pass that leads to the goal and that is just fine, he's the joker of the squad. Similar to Cuadrado in that respect who contributes despite not always scoring or assisting. I mean even Bernardeschi is of a similar profile but more direct in his play.

Good things to come, our offence will not be a concern this season, its everywhere else

[rincon]

I had a look at the stats since we have the break and I'm bored at work

In the first 7 games we have 20 goals, more than I can remember us ever scoring. I can't think of a Juve that scored 3 per game.

Dybala 10
Higuain 3
Mandzukic 2
Sandro 1
Bernardeschi 1
Cuadrado 1
Pjanic 1

We conceded 5 which is 1 more than last year, and all of them away from home. Genoa and Atalanta away are done which is great.

Pjanic has been killing it with the assists, Cuadrado has also been in fine form and Bernardeschi for not playing much has been very productive. Dybala with 0 assists looks weird.

Pjanic 5
Cuadrado 3
Bernardeschi 2
Higuain 2
Mandzukic 2
Sandro 1
Lichtsteiner 1

From most minutes played, our 11 has been on average

Buffon; Sandro, Chiellini, Rugani, Licht; Matuidi, Pjanic; Mandzukic, Dybala, Cuadrado; Higuain

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