Lazio 1-1 Juventus: 5 Talking Points as Caicedo rescues hosts yet again | Serie A 2020-21

#3 Paulo Dybala continues his indifferent recent form for Juventus

SS Lazio vs Juventus - Serie A

It's no secret that Paulo Dybala has looked a pale shadow of his former self after his recovery from COVID-19. The Juventus player was Serie A's MVP last season, but for that scenario to repeat again this season, it might need an almighty miracle.

Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo were quite the strike partnership against Lazio, with the Spaniard dovetailing well with his illustrious Portuguese teammate throughout the match. The duo look miles ahead of Dybala at the moment, and with Dejan Kulusevski also able to play in the front two, it's not hyperbole to claim that Dybala's immediate future at Juventus looks uncertain.

I will say this on Dybala.He'll always be expendable to every Coach until he finds that fire within himself. He's always lacking conditioning & preparation.His issue goes beyond formations, which too doesn't help his case either because he's not as versatile as his teammates.

— Arjun Pradeep (@IndianRegista) November 8, 2020

The player did not help his cause with an abject cameo appearance. He gave away the ball multiple times, the last of which resulted in the throw that led to Lazio's late equaliser. Perhaps Dybala's move to Manchester United may yet happen.

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#2 Andrea Pirlo almost finds the right balance

SS Lazio vs Juventus - Serie A

It's only been a few months into Andrea Pirlo's reign as Juventus manager, but what seems incredible is that the Bianconeri have yet to keep a clean sheet in Serie A since their opening-day win over Sampdoria (putting aside the default 3-0 win awarded after Napoli's no-show).

Yet, Pirlo was ever so close to finding the right balance between attack and defence against Lazio. Adrien Rabiot was superb while leading the charge from midfield. With a formation that rotated between a 3-5-2 and 4-4-2, Juventus looked comfortable for most of the game.

Pirlo can hardly be held culpable for Lazio's last-gasp equaliser, but he will be nonetheless disappointed. Yet, there are positives galore to take from the Bianconeri's performance in Rome, if not the result itself.

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#1 Juventus failed to close the gap on league leaders AC Milan

SS Lazio vs Juventus - Serie A

Juventus were a point behind AC Milan right until Felipe Caicedo's shot nestled in the back of the Bianconeri net. Yes, Milan do have a game in hand, but the psychological benefit of knowing that there's a three-point gap cannot be overstated.

Yes, it's early days in the 2020-21 Serie A season, but with plenty of games producing shock results already, a draw between the two title challengers could not have come at a more opportune moment for Milan.

FT | ⏱ | Full-time at the Olimpico. #LazioJuve #FinoAllaFine #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/QsWgI1Mx1Q

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) November 8, 2020

Juventus do have the know-how and experience of overcoming a minuscule gap such as this one, but with a greenhorn manager in charge, other teams would fancy their chances of upsetting the Juventus applecart and their near decade-long dominance.

Lazio may perhaps find it a bridge too far; they are ninth in the table. Simone Inzaghi's men have looked pretty inconsistent all season, and they were honestly lucky to come away with a point against the defending champions.