Le Pagelle: Juventus vs. Pisa
· Yahoo Sports
Usually, when you say a game was a story of two halves, one team or the other is on top of things before their opponents turn the tables in the second half.
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Saturday’s match between Juventus and Pisa was a slight modification of the usual trope. Juventus remained in control of the game for the majority of the 90 minutes. The difference came in front of goal. In the first half, Juve couldn’t get the ball into Pisa’s net despite creating some decent chances. Some heroic blocks by Pisa defenders did have something to do with that (they blocked nine shots altogether) but there were some flat misses in there too.
A change in tack by Luciano Spalletti in the second half led to a much more free-flowing attack, and in the final 35 minutes of the game the Bianconeri scored four unanswered goals, crushing Serie A’s bottom side 4-0 and getting into position to make up ground in the table. Roma and Como are playing each other, and so one or both are bound to drop points, so a victory over Udinese will see Juve cut their deficit.
How did the players do in this match against the relegation strugglers? Let’s take a closer look.
MATTIA PERIN – 6.5.Much better than last week’s downright bad performance against Roma. Made two saves—the first a vital one—in the first six minutes, but wasn’t called on to stop anything after that. What made this game so much different was his willingness to come out and play crosses, which he refused to do last week. He was in much better control of his box today.
PIERRE KALULU – 7. Did very well defensively to limit any threat on his side, and added in two key passes and a 93.3 percent completion rate overall. Typically excellent.
BREMER – 6. Defended well, but had some problems passing the ball that produced dangerous situations that could’ve easily been avoided, even if he did come up with a key pass in the second half.
FEDERICO GATTI – 6. Came close to a third straight game with a goal, but his first-half header was right at Pisa goalkeeper Nícolas. Otherwise did very well and I was surprised he was pulled at halftime. It could’ve been that Lloyd Kelly was a better fit for Spalletti’s tactical plotting, or he may have turned up with some kind of knock. We’ll see.
WESTON McKENNIE – 6.5. Everywhere as usual, making three key passes and playing off of Yildiz in the box for a lot of the second half, which I thing helped the false nine setup more than usual.
MANUEL LOCATELLI – 7. Sent an utterly fantastic ball to assist Jérémie Boga’s late goal, and narrowly missed one himself when he bonked his shot off the post before Thuram put in the rebound. Led the team in all three major defensive categories (three tackles, three interceptions, five clearances).
KHÉPHREN THURAM – 6.5. Solid in midfield, and was quick to jump on the rebound when Locatelli hit the post (just like you draw it up, right fellas?).
ANDREA CAMBIASO – 6.5. His best game in a long time. Made a really clever run to evade the backside defenders on his goal, and his defense was surprisingly sharp, including one moment in the 35th minute where he was suddenly confronted with a one-on-two situation and managed to play it perfectly, being credited with a last-man tackle to stop one of Pisa’s more dangerous attacks.
FRANCISCO CONCEIÇÃO – 7.5. Another man who put together his best performance in a good long while, Conceição had a whopping nine dribbles, and assisted Kenan Yildiz’s goal. A really lively game for the compact winger.
KENAN YILDIZ – 8. Looked a little isolated on the sideline in the first half but flourished in the second when he was moved closer to the goal. He just missed a share of the dribble lead with eight—which is still insane—and both his assist and his goal were special to look at.
JONATHAN DAVID – 4.5. Only completed 52.7 percent of his passes in the first half, and looked devoid of confidence, especially after Andrea Caracciolo made a last-ditch block on a shot that very well could’ve gone in. With Dusan Vlahovic returning soon, he’s gonna have to show something quick if he doesn’t want to suffer the fate of Loïs Openda.
SUBSJÉRÉMIE BOGA – 6.5. Racked up three dribbles and took three shots in the second half, but more important than his numbers was his mere presence, which allowed Yildiz a freer reign in the attack. His second goal in two games was icing on the cake.
LLOYD KELLY – 6. Had a key pass and completed 90 percent overall, as well as picking up two clearances and an interception.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS – NR. Touched the ball only four times in 14 minutes on the field with the game well in hand.
FABIO MIRETTI – NR. Solid in giving Conceição some rest late.
FILIP KOSTIC – NR. A late addition to give Yildiz an ovation as much as anything else.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
I mentioned this a little bit in talking about Yildiz, but he far too isolated on the wing in the first half. He seemed to be stationed almost directly onto the chalk (or is it paint they use now?), which gave him a long way to go to get into any kind of threatening position, especially as he was constantly thrown double- and triple-teams. He would make some fantastic moves only to run into a second wave of defenders that stopped him from doing anything.
His move to the middle was far more productive. With more players to account for in the area, it was harder for Pisa to send multiple defenders his way, and he only needed one or two touches to get somewhere where he could make danger.
I’ve advocated playing Yildiz as a more traditional trequartista since early last season, after he was terrific in the position in Thiago Motta’s first two games in charge before being kicked out wide when Koopmeiners arrived late in the transfer window. He’s such a good player that he’ll be fantastic anywhere, but getting him closer to the goal will make it harder for teams to double-team him and make it far easier for him to be in a dangerous position with his first or second move, as opposed to needing three or four to get all the way inside from the touchline against multiple defenders.
I’m aware than getting it to happen is going to be more difficult than just saying it. In a 4-2-3-1 making Yildiz the treq would likely mean pushing McKennie to the bench, but he’s a must-start right now given his form. Any other option in a four-man defense would require him to actually play as the false nine, and the success of that has been inconsistent since Spalletti arrived. It would be easier to do in the 3-4-2-1, as his position in the attacking support line allows him more flexibility in where he wants to go. He still often drifts wide from that position, which is causing him his problems, and it could be here where you could give him instructions to tuck inside while Cambiaso or Kostic provides width from the left wing-back spot.
However it can be made to work, I think it’s something Spalletti needs to figure out. Yildiz needs to be closer to the goal, to avoid those double-teams if nothing else, which would automatically make him far more dangerous on its own.
LOOKING AHEAD
As mentioned at the top of this piece, Udinese is up next, and if Juve can win in Friuli they’ll be guaranteed to gain points on one or both of Roma or Como, who play each other. After that they welcome Sassuolo to Turin before facing Genoa on the other side of the international break.