On a frosty Italian evening, Juventus were in the ascendency, jumping out to a two-goal lead thanks to the work of Federico Bernardeschi and the clinical finishing of Gonzalo Higuain. However, after finding themselves firmly in control of the match against a widely-admired opponent, the Bianconeri retreated and were subsequently punished for their negative approach, pegged back to 2-2 as the game slipped from their grasp.
They even missed a penalty, an Argentinian forward blowing the opportunity to seal a win from 12 yards, yet on this occasion, it was Paulo Dybala making the error. Indeed, this is not a reflection on Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Tottenham Hotspur but instead a recollection of October’s Serie A encounter with Atalanta.
Then, just as they did this week against the Premier League side, the Old Lady played with the kind of attacking intent not usually associated with Italian football, the ability of her frontline simply overwhelming Atalanta. However, just as they would do five months later, Max Allegri’s team fell back into their defensive shell and made costly errors, eventually throwing away what looked like a surefire victory. On both nights, the coach opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation that proved to be their undoing, Atalanta and Tottenham able to play through the middle of the pitch almost at will thanks to the numerical advantage handed to them by the Juve boss.
“We had 35 beautiful minutes against Atalanta. We went 2-0 up and then we started to do less and less…” the Tuscan would tell Tuttosport shortly after a draw that felt like a defeat, and he would offer an almost identical response following the collapse against Spurs. “After going 2-0 up, we got too deep and stopped playing,” Allegri said at his post-match press conference on Tuesday, his words sending a shudder of déjà vu through the heart of anyone who holds the Bianconeri dear.
We've somehow got the Juventus vs. Spurs game down to 60 seconds…
Those fans who watch them closely each week have seen this all too often when facing a team who attacks without fear. Barcelona brushed Juve’s 4-2-3-1 aside 3-0 at Camp Nou back in September while Lazio did the same in both August’s Supercoppa Italiana clash and in a league meeting immediately after the draw with Atalanta. Even in last year’s Champions League final, Mario Mandzukic scored a spectacular goal to make it 1-1 at half-time, but in the second half Real Madrid simply tore Juve apart to run out 4-1 winners.
Allegri seemed to have understood that a two-man midfield was unworkable in such circumstances, abandoning it in recent months to utilise a 4-3-2-1/4-3-3 hybrid that ensured they were no longer outnumbered in that area. While there were mitigating circumstances – most notably Blaise Matuidi’s absence with a thigh injury – it was inexplicable that the Coach reverted to it against a Spurs side who boast such a potent front six of their own.
Juventus had no shortage of options to fill the void left by the Frenchman, naming no less than four central midfielders on the bench against Spurs. Even if Kwadwo Asamoah is no longer seen as such after largely featuring as a wing-back and Stefano Sturaro isn’t good enough, the other two men surely warrant greater consideration.
Claudio Marchisio is seemingly now fully fit, playing 66 minutes in Friday’s win away to Fiorentina and his ability – not to mention his importance to the side – was discussed at length in this previous article. So too Rodrigo Bentancur who, at just 20 years old and in his first season with Juve, already boasts Champions League starts against Barcelona and Olympiacos, displaying a maturity beyond his years on both occasions.
Instead, Allegri opted for a 4-2-3-1 once again and paid a heavy price. It is too easy to look at Higuain’s penalty miss or the left-footed effort he dragged wide of Hugo Lloris’ goal and blame him for the result, particularly given his history of choking in big moments. It is also understandable that many would rather point the finger elsewhere instead of at the Coach who has steered them to two finals in three seasons, but this is one performance where it is the well-dressed tactician who must shoulder responsibility.
Countless times he has found a tactical solution to help secure a victory, and he may well do so again next month at Wembley against Spurs, but here, in this first leg, the error was his. But even if he believed that dropping deep to soak up pressure with 75 minutes left to play was the right move, Allegri should’ve protected his defence by sending on a third midfielder as early as the 20th minute.
Instead, he simply crossed his fingers and hoped Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanić could hold Spurs at bay, watching on as helplessly as those on the Curva Sud as his gamble backfired in spectacular fashion.
