Photo by Chris Ricco/Getty ImagesĪs if to prove my point, Juve went from bad to disastrous in its away game against Hellas Verona. This team still has a long, long way to go and is likely still years away from winning the Scudetto again. Maxime Lopez gave Juve the sucker punch and completed the smash-and-grab when he scored on the counter in the 95th minute: a chastening 2-1 loss that was another reminder that we shouldn’t be fooled by the minor progress made under Allegri during our nine match unbeaten streak that started in September. Davide Frattesi punished Juve’s scored just before half-time against the run of play, although Weston McKennie equalized in the 76th minute with an impressive header. Alessio Dionisi’s vibrant side deservedly beat the Bianconeri at the J Stadium, the first time Sassuolo has beat Juventus away from home. VAR spotted the foul and Paulo Dybala scored a penalty: 1-1, although Inter may have deserved a victory from this one.īut VAR wasn’t there to save Juve in its midweek game against Sassuolo. Inter dominated the first half and rightly took the lead when Edin Dzeko tapped in Hakan Calhanoglu’s deflected shot that also came off the post.Īlthough Juve didn’t play well, they still equalized from the penalty spot after Denzel Dumfries’ wild swing caught Alex Sandro just inside the box.
This time, it was the Derby d’Italia away against Inter, another side that is very much in the running to win the Scudetto this year.
A cushioned header in the 86th minute by Dejan Kulusevski went in off the post and ensured that Juve maintained its 100% record in the group phase: another 1-0 victory! Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty ImagesĪnother day, another derby. The game was such a drab affair that, frankly, the only notable event was the goal. Juventus then traveled to Russia to face Zenit St. Jordan Veretout missed the penalty and Roma were, quite rightly, furious (although nobody would have batted an eye if Veretout had scored the penalty). The controversy, however, stemmed from the fact that Abraham scored the equalizer from the loose ball after Mkhitaryan was fouled, but the referee ignored the goal and pointed to the spot instead. Photo by Matteo Bottanelli/NurPhoto via Getty Images The ball bounced to Henrikh Mkhitaryan who was fouled by Wojciech Szczesny for a penalty. Tammy Abraham, continuing his rich vein of form for his new club, danced past a few Juve defenders before Danilo’s brilliant tackle stopped him in his tracks.
The most controversial moment of the game came just a few minutes before half time. Moise Kean’s peculiar opening goal after deflecting Rodrigo Bentancur’s header with, ehm, his own head put Juve in the driver’s seat after just 16 minutes. As is often the case in games with the Special Not Special Happy Unhappy One Mourinho, it was a wonderfully controversial game. Next, we had a massive game at home against (fellow?) Scudetto contenders Roma, who started the season brightly under new manager José Mourinho but have lost a bit of momentum recently. It was a precise shot that bounced off the inside of the right post and into the back off the net: 1-0. Just when it looked like we were going to have to contend with a frustrating goalless draw though, Manuel Locatelli scored his second goal in Juve colors to give his team the lead. The last few editions of this game have been tight and scrappy contests, and this one was no different. The Bianconeri opened the month with the always-entertaining Derby Della Mole against Torino. Nowhere near good enough.īut you don’t care about what I think, you care about what happened in October, so let’s get to business. And the reality is that this Juventus team that has dropped so many points this season is simply not good enough to compete with top teams in Italy and Europe. Maybe it’s because of the nightmarish start to the 2021-22 season, but I always feel like I should have some kind of dramatic introduction to my monthly recaps.īut sometimes excessive drama and “hot takes” distracts us from the reality.
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