Empoli-Juve: it was the first post-Ronaldo defeat, today Allegri aims for rebirth

On 22 August Juve of the Allegri bis made their debut in the league with Udinese’s bloody comeback: from the 2-0 Dybala-Cuadrado format to the 2-2 final, with Szczesny already in the pillory. But the worst was yet to come: on 27 August Ronaldo, on the bench for 60 minutes in Udine, was sold to Manchester United and the next day a Juve perhaps in shock lost at home to Empoli, Mancuso’s goal, now on loan to Monza, at 21 ‘of the first half and first defeat of the season, which will be followed by the one against Napoli. Point with Milan included, after the first 4 matches Juve found themselves with only two points and a load of doubts and perplexities that have long conditioned the team mentally.

the turning point

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Twenty-two games after Juve he finds himself with 47 points and a much lighter luggage, thanks to a regained balance and has a refounded stability. Starting from a defensive reliability that went hand in hand with the growth of De Ligt, passing through a growing self-esteem with the increase in points and performances, leading to the two purchases on the January market that led to a tangible technical improvement also a load of enthusiasm and confidence that has reopened the horizons of the season. With thatgoodbye of Vlahovic who in the Juventus jersey scored on his debut in the league, on his debut in the Italian cup (or rather he propitiated the decisive goal of Sassuolo) and on his debut in the Champions League (after 33 seconds!). And tomorrow he will be there with Empoli, leading the Juventus recovery after the two draws with Atalanta and Turin.

FIRST ROUND IN SWING

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But even before the arrival of Dusan, Juve had given ample signs of improvement, so much so that they were the best points hunter from the end of November onwards. Eliminated (almost completely) the problems of individual oversights and that of defensive coverage, a huge problem remained to be solved: the achievement percentage, with attackers who see little of the goal (like Morata) or are mainly absorbed by connection tasks (like Dybala ). The summer hypothesis of transforming some midfielder into added goalscorer in fact soon faded, and despite the great optimism always transmitted by Allegri evidently also at Juve home it was clear the impossibility of solving the problem with internal resources. Hence the choices to anticipate the expenses for purchases in January.

EMPOLI BIS, ANOTHER STORY

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And so Empoli tomorrow will face a very different opponent, in terms of men, in terms of disposition on the pitch and in spirit. It is true that he will have to do without 8 injured players, but the depth of the squad will allow Allegri to field an almost obligatory team but not a fallback. The problem will rather be the bench, with very few rotations available. But of necessity a virtue, young people, if called into question, will have to make up for inexperience with athletic and mental freshness. As for mood, it will no longer be Juve stammering in August, but a team unbeaten in 12 games in A which, having equaled Pirlo’s record, with the 13th consecutive useful result would be close to that of Sarri (14). A lot of stuff, on paper, for a team that can’t win in 9 matches and that concedes more shots than everyone else (150), in Serie A. And then there’s the Vlahovic card: eight goals in the last seven matches against the newly promoted , including Empoli pierced with the Fiorentina shirt in the first round. Only one player in Serie A history has found the goal with two different shirts in the same league against the Tuscans, Piatek in 2018/19 (Genoa and Milan), but no one has succeeded in the two away matches. And after three records, do you want Dusan not to aim for the fourth?