Juve, only 4 points out of 18 with the first 4 of A: Championships uphill

The good news of Juve’s point at Milan is that they only have two games left to play with the top four in the standings today: 13 February with Atalanta and 3 April with Inter, net of any advances and postponements. . Other than “small pains”, often evoked also by Massimiliano Allegri: Juve cannot win with the big teams, literally, because against the top four in the standings they have never won this year. To draw at home from the second in the standings is in itself a respectable result, even if you accept to play as Juve did at San Siro. But playing like this is not an episode. Not winning a big match like this is not an episode.

THE COMPARISON

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The seasonal path tells of 4 points out of 18 available in the six games against the four teams that precede it in the standings: four draws and two defeats, which arrived against the closest rivals, in Naples and with Atalanta. The difference with who is in front is all there, in direct confrontations. Against the top four in the class, Juve averaged 0.67 points, against all the other teams they averaged 2.23 points per game: almost quadruple. To give the complete picture, there would also be the Super Cup, which is another competition, but still with Inter ahead: even considering the 1-1 at the end of the regulations, the sum is always zero. Zero wins in seven games.

SOMETIMES BEAUTIFUL

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In the clashes with the Top 4 there were performances that were stammering to say the least: the point won last minute with Dybala at Inter in the championship match, or the much more disappointing 1-1 home match of the Epiphany against the decimated Napoli. But paradoxically among these six (or seven) matches there are also some of the best matches of the season. The first leg with Milan was until a quarter of an hour from the end, when Juve also risked losing from the advantage, or defeat against Napoli, when the defeat actually came. Or even the internal knockout with Atalanta, unjustly not rewarded by the goal.

CALCULATOR

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Much more logical, indeed inevitable, that he would end without a goal against Milan: Juve’s first game without shots on target for almost three years now, from Genoa in March 2019 according to the Opta data. It doesn’t help to have the average ball recovery at 35 meters, and if the goal is 70 meters away, the quality of Dybala, Dybala’s self-denial, Cuadrado’s run is hardly enough, even in a game in which he did slightly more. ball possession of the opponents, and not even tiqui-taka: just inconclusive. Perhaps Juve-ant who seeks the comeback in small steps was fine a draw at San Siro without even trying, counting on the fact that 13 of the last 15 games will be against those who chase. Whether this is enough for the Champions League race is all to be seen.