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After a season-defining win against the high-flying Lazio, Juventus came into today’s game knowing a win would clinch their ninth successive Serie A title. As for their opponents, Udinese, knew three points would go a long way to securing their place in Italy’s top-flight.
From the opening 42 minutes, you wouldn’t have known which one of these teams was fighting for the title and which was fighting for survival. It was only until Matthijs de Ligt rocketed in a long-range effort just before half-time that Juventus showed their quality. After that, the Champions elect continued to struggle with Udinese’s intensity.
Luca Gotti’s men would deservedly equalise seven minutes into the second half as Ilija Nestorovski would dive onto an inch-perfect cross from Ken Sema. The relegation battlers would continue to frustrate the Champions until winning the game for themselves in added time, as Seko Fofana would take on the Juventus defence by himself to slot past a helpless Wojciech Szczesny.
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Here are 5 talking points from Juve’s 2-1 defeat to Udinese.
#5 Life after Bonucci & Chiellini
Over the years, the Champions have been renowned for their defensive solidity. Antonio Conte’s rigorous back three and Massimiliano Allegri’s militant defence have defined the culture of this football club, putting them in good stead for the future.
This season Maurizio Sarri’s team has had to deal with the difficult absence of Giorgio Chiellini. The Italian suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in February and has since then been on the sidelines for 202 days, missing 38 games.
Sarri’s favoured pairing in his absence has been Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt, however, the experienced CB picked up his 10th yellow card of the season last time out, so had to sit this game out. This left a relatively unfamiliar pairing of de Ligt and Daniele Rugani. The duo struggled in the air against a highly combative Udinese attack and in the end, they showed themselves to not be of the desired quality.
#4 Paulo Dybala tries his best
Alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala has been Juve’s main cause for inspiration this season. The Argentinian has regularly provided moments of brilliance to drag Sarri’s men out of the dirt but today, his magic ran dry. Up against a resolute Udinese defence, the 26-year-old struggled to find any wriggle room in the final third as he was tightly marked.
He could only find room to breathe out wide or when he dropped deep into midfield. Although he was able to create 3 chances for his teammates, Dybala himself hit 4 shots off target.
Over the 90 minutes, the forward was dispossessed 3 times and failed to complete 6 of his 9 dribbles in an exasperating display.
#3 Aaron Ramsey fails to impress
Since moving to Turin on a free transfer last summer, Aaron Ramsey has flattered to deceive. The Welshman’s rumoured £400k-a-week wage has been deemed a waste and his performance today only strengthened that notion. Deployed in a midfield three for his final third movement and linkup play, Ramsey displayed neither of those traits today.
In a fairly anonymous display, the 29-year-old misplaced 3 passes, was dispossessed 3 times and attempted only 1 shot on goal. Sarri quickly hooked the ineffective midfielder off 15 minutes into the second half.
#2 Udinese’s fighting spirit
Despite starting the night in 16th place only 4 points above the relegation zone, Udinese took the game to the Champions from the first minute. They diligently defended in a low-block but looked to press Juve’s midfielders any time they came near their final third. This forced Sarri’s men to continually circulate the ball wide to then cross aimlessly. Whenever Le Zebrettes won possession back, they countered quickly looking to overload Juve’s exposed centre-backs.
Their quick transitions caught Sarri’s men off-guard, leading to two well-taken goals. With only 39% possession, Udinese managed to attempt 11 shots on goal, completed 13 dribbles, 22 tackles, 19 clearances, 12 interceptions, won 3 corners and scored 2 all-important goals. Luca Gotti’s men have now moved up one place in the league, all but securing their stay in Serie A.
#1 An off day for Cristiano Ronaldo
Often the man for big moments, the greatest player of all time just had one of those games today. Drifting in from the left to central areas, Ronaldo did his best to find spaces in Udinese’s compact defence. His relentless movement and willingness to receive the ball in tight spaces made him a constant threat in the final third, however, to no avail.
In a frustrating performance, the 35-year-old was dispossessed twice, won 1 aerial, made 30 passes, created 1 chance and attempted 7 shots on goal. Cristiano Ronaldo will have to wait for at least one more week before he can claim his second Scudetto.
