Juve, how hard it is to score goals. Attackers alert: they haven’t scored for 49 days

Luciano, we have a problem. After the 0-0 draw against Torino in the derby on the 11th matchday, Spalletti’s Juve, despite only their third outing on the Juventus bench, find themselves having to deal with the difficulties that had already emerged in the last technical managements. From the late Allegri to Thiago Motta, from Tudor to (now) the former coach, Juventus players struggle tremendously to score. It is no coincidence, therefore, that 4 of the last 6 Serie A matches have ended without a goal and, consequently, with 2 draws and 2 defeats.

the numbers

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If we exclude Vlahovic and Yildiz’s penalties against Udinese, to find a goal from an open play by a Juventus attacker in Serie A we have to go back to 20 September in Verona, with Conceiçao’s shot from outside the area. Forty-nine days of abstinence which weigh like a boulder on Juve’s ambitions. In a Serie A that struggles to consistently send center forwards into goals (it is no coincidence that Calhanoglu and Orsolini are top scorers), the Bianconeri do not stand out: 57% of Juventus’ seasonal goals came from forwards, worse only than Milan (60%), but better than Roma (53%), Inter (52%) and Napoli (25%) among the big teams. A common misfortune, however, is certainly not half joy and does not alleviate the offensive difficulties of the Bianconeri: of the 14 goals scored in the championship, just 7 came from offensive players (3 from Vlahovic, 2 from Yildiz, 1 from Conceiçao and 1 from David), of which only the first two came from maneuvered play. For the rest, either free kicks (3) or individual inventions (2). Against Torino, numbers in hand, the offensive production of Spalletti’s team was not exactly non-existent as was seen, however, in the final part of Tudor’s management in the matches against Milan, Como, Real Madrid and Lazio (all of which ended without goals). We are not, therefore, at the red alert of the almost 400 minutes without scoring which contributed to the Croatian’s dismissal, but kicking 15, 18 and 21 times respectively towards the opponent’s goal against Cremonese, Sporting Lisbon and Torino and scoring just 3 goals still lights up the warning light of a problem.

the module change option

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Against the Granata it was Yildiz who tried more than anyone else (4 shots, 2 of which were on target), followed by Vlahovic (3 attempted shots) and Conceiçao (2), but in the end the best opportunity fell to a midfielder (McKennie, Paleari decisive). Another good chance, albeit a short one, happened to David (who shows signs of awakening, but still remains without a goal since the first day), Zhegrova gave liveliness from the bench (her cross for the 22nd), Openda had little space, but hasn’t celebrated for almost 7 months and 1000 minutes. In short, we need a global change. “You can also play with the two strikers,” Spalletti opened the door to the change in formation after the match. Will it be enough to resolve withdrawal?