Inter v Juventus
Serie A Week 4 – Sunday, 18th September – 17:00 GMT – Stadio San Siro
Juventus
The result against Sevilla was not that bad in the context of the group stage, but certainly the performance was frustrating, especially after that scintillating half against Sassuolo. There must be some kind of mental block, because in Champions League Juventus are rarely as imposing as in Serie A, usually coming out of the gates really slowly and often too tentative. The Spanish side was very attentive and organized and crowded the spaces really well, but we face numerous teams like that in Italy, and usually there are no issues: we keep pounding until the wall cracks. But in Europe we do not seem able to mount repeated attacks with the usual fury we see in the domestic league. That being said, the squad deserved to win the game because the second half was pretty good, with plenty of chances to score, but the sluggish starts will need to be assessed because they could be costly in the future.
Juventus will now face their historical enemy and the bout arrives at an ideal time because of where Inter are in their team-building process. Massimiliano Allegri will have to deal with the difficult task of managing energies in a busy time of the year and also keeping everybody happy from the playing time standpoint. The next game is at home against Cagliari, so there will probably be a little more rotation there, but the physical condition after this quick turnaround will be the main factor in some choices.
For instance, it was announced that Dani Alves has a bruised thigh: nothing too serious, no strains or tears, but it could be enough to keep him sidelined for this one. Stephan Lichsteiner would be the first in line to replace him, but after all, we acquired Juan Cuadrado for a reason and this might be his time to shine.
As for the XI, there are basically doubts at any level. In the defence, Leonardo Bonucci missed time because of family reasons, while Andrea Barzagli was spared against Sassuolo: could it be Giorgio Chiellini’s time to rest now? Medhi Benatia would take his place if that happened. Alex Sandro will most likely start as left wing back.
The trickiest situation is in the midfield: against Sassuolo, Allegri put on hold his “Miralem Pjanic as deep-lying playmaker experiment”, choosing Mario Lemina in that position. He then benched the Bosnian ace in Champions League, a decision that make many scratch their heads, in favour of Kwadwo Asamoah. Lemina did not have a great game on Tuesday and the midfield struggled to move the ball, especially considering that Paulo Dybala, who now likes to come back to initiate the action, was always trapped by two or three opponents. Whatever the position, I think Pjanic is sorely needed to have better and quicker distribution.
Sami Khedira has been outstanding so far, but we know that he has a giant “handle with care” advice all over him: the coaching staff only once fielded him thrice in a week last season. He was pulled early against Sassuolo, but with Stefano Sturaro and Claudio Marchisio both out with injuries, there isn’t a natural replacement for him. In that occasion, Hernanes entered the game and Lemina moved to the right-hand. I do not think it is appropriate to start Hernanes in a game of this magnitude, but I would not be shocked to see a Lemina-Pjanic-Asamoah midfield in this one, or in the next. Of course the easy fix would be to try Pjanic on the right-hand: I don’t think I’ve ever seen him play there, but it should not be a great adjustment from his usual position.
Gonzalo Higuain and Dybala are set to start again: we will see how long we can go before Mario Mandzukic’s lack of playing time becomes an issue. However, it is clear what the best duo is and, thanks to his skills, Marko Pjaca could really be a very nice weapon off the bench.
Probable lineup:
3-5-2: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichsteiner, Khedira, Lemina, Pjanic, Sandro; Higuain, Dybala.
Injuries:
Marchisio (knee), Sturaro (knee), Mandragora (foot)
Suspensions:
None.
Inter
Inter have undergone as many changes as you could go in one summer: the new Suning ownership took over, new coach in the middle of August, many new players. However, other than ten fiery minutes against Pescara, things have not been much better compared to last season, but that is to be expected considering the massive task that is putting together a team after the season has already started, without the benefit of the stress-free environment of the preseason.
I think that the additions of Joao Mario, Ever Banega, Antonio Candreva, Gabriel Barbosa and Cristian Ansaldi will eventually be all rated from good to excellent, but I am not quite sure all the pieces fit together. For instance, Frank De Boer is now going with a tactic that excludes Geoffrey Kondogbia, while Marcelo Brozovic is essentially a forgotten man: that seems ungenerous to me, considering not only their obvious talent but also how much they either paid or could have gotten if they sold those players. For starters, one issue they definitely have is that they have too many players from the waist up and I do not think you could just ask some off them to play well once in two weeks in the Europa League, where many of their good ones are excluded because of Financial Fair Play restrictions. Continuity and familiarity are necessary to perform at high level as a team.
Furthermore, more should have been done to improve the defence: Miranda and Jeison Murillo are reliable, yet over-hyped, but there is no depth; Andrea Ranocchia and Marco Andreolli are the backups, and their fullbacks are just meh. Danilo D’Ambrosio and Yuto Nagatomo are JAGs, Davide Santon actually failed three medicals this summer: the newcomer Cristian Ansaldi was awesome at Genoa last season, but suffered a knee sprain that has not allowed him to debut this season. He could return and take Nagatomo’s spot this week, just like Santon could displace D’Ambrosio, but there is not much difference there.
On the pitch, they are disjointed, weak in the back, toothless upfront. The main concern is that they do not play with much energy or pride, as the collapse against Hapoel Beer Sheva has shown, and they appear to be mentally fragile when things do not go well. So far they have been beaten by Chievo Verona, they have drawn at home against Palermo and they have defeated Pescara thanks to a late game surge.
De Boer is tinkering with the schemes: he is likely to field a 4-2-3-1 with Banega as attacking midfielder, Mario and Gary Medel in front of the defence. I am not convinced this is the best use of the Portuguese starlet, whom I think could give a lot offensively in a different position, maybe in a three-man midfield. Ivan Perisic missed practice time and the Europa League game because of muscle fatigue: he will be a game-time decision, if he is out Eder is the favourite to take his spot in the lineup, with Rodrigo Palacio and Stevan Jovetic as the other not so appealing options.
Or maybe De Boer will change everything once again: after all he is the one who opted for a very strange and unnatural 3-4-1-2 against Chievo Verona. They have the versatility to play multiple formations, but that is probably not a plus for them at this time.
Probable lineup:
4-2-3-1: Handanovic; D’Ambrosio, Miranda, Murillo, Nagatomo; Mario, Medel; Candreva, Banega, Eder; Icardi.
Injuries:
None.
Suspensions:
None.
Formation
Solid preview and analysis, Enrico. Much appreciated as always.
Despite my reservations of deploying Pjanic in the regista role absent of a hard tackling enforcer nearby, I am keen on seeing him given a shot. Especially if it allows Lemina to move to a different position in the line-up. I am yet to discern his natural position. As perhaps also is Allegri and the player himself. At Marseille he played often as the DM, sometimes with another DM by his side, sometimes as the base of the midfield. He also played RB and RM on a few occasions. Yet I have not seen any obvious defensive prowess. From what I have witnessed, he is happiest when bombing forward with the ball at his feet. Perhaps his confidence is somehow muddled, and the responsibility of playing for a top side is proving tough to manage?
However, it is another 23 year old who I retain great hope in, who is nearing inclusion in the first team squad which brings me confidence and excitement. Sturaro has the grinta as well as good technique. He is a soldier who can play the ball and always makes his presence felt, supports the attack and gives his all for the cause. Not as flashy as Lemina, but for me, he brings much more to the side when fit and I very much hope he gets the chances this season to progress. He deserves it. And has already shown me in the past that he is a much more accomplished midfielder than Lemina.
With Marchisio out for at least another month, now is the time for one of the youngsters to stake a claim, to show what they can do. The jury remains out on Lemina, at least by my reckoning…whereas Sturaro needs simply to get match sharp and a run of games. If this happens, I suspect that he could become a vital force in a starting XI which is very much in need of true grit aligned with technical potency, which is exactly what Stefano brings to the battle.
Stefano played the first half in today’s Primavera 1-0 victory over Bari. Kean (who else!) got the goal.
(What the devil are JAGs? And what is the meaning of ‘too many players from the waist up’? I am keen on expanding my lexicon to include these terms from other footballing cultures…)
I think Lemina’s best position is at RCM, where he showcased his abilities last season. Who can forget his great goal against Atalanta, which showed all of his dribbling and technical abilities on the ball. His passing is nothing special, and I think defensively he is OK, but is still a liability. Since Khedira is playing so well in the RCM position, it seems to me like Allegri is just playing Lemina in the CDM role because he has no one else there. I would argue that Hernanes would be just as good as Lemina in the CDM role, and whenever Khedira needs to be rested, Lemina can slot into a position which is more natural to him. I honestly felt like at certain parts of last season, we had a player in Mario Lemina that made the loss of Vidal easier to handle. I genuinely believe in his talent and ability, and I think he should be given chances throughout the midfield to find out for himself, and Allegri, just where exactly he can be the most effective and helpful to the team.
This is the time to build momentum and assert our dominance across all platforms. Inter has a very good team, their problem is actually pretty simple. No one knows how to get the best out of such talented players. It’s a shame really, in order for us to insert our relevance we need a formidable opponent. Rome emphasized the magnitude of their enemies in order to bolster their own brilliance. I don’t want Juventus to dominate this game, I want us to struggle against Inter but a draw or win would be fine. There is no rivalry in serie a anymore, the bianconeri boast fear in their opponents eyes. Long gone are the days when a derby of this magnitude actually had any relevance or significance. The fact that the Milanese clubs know how much better we are gives them an ample excuse when they lose to us. I miss the serie a of old days, the likes of giants clashing on a day when premier league and La liga could not offer better entertainment. We need the hard tackles, red cards and throat grabbing to get some head lines. My friends, as we stand here and examine this even for the taking there is one underlying question. If juventus can almost certainly expect a victory against their bitter rivals, what relevance does serie a have anymore? Is this a one team league we want to watch anymore? Don’t get me wrong, I want Juventus to win everything every year but not this easy. What made serie a great was formidable opposition. Long gone are the days where the Milanese clubs even qualified for champions league. The all dominating serie A is at a breaking point my friends. Any opponent playing Inter or Milan would shiver before they entered the playing ground, now at days? It’s simply a shoulder shrug and a reference to the glorious past they once held. Yes, I am venting!! But spare me non sense, if we are going in to this game with 90% certainty that we will win I no longer find serie a interesting folks. On the european platform we’ve accomplished nothing in the last 8 years? Inter won the finals and we made the finals but look at the decline folks. Therefore I hope Inter plays their hearts out tomorrow, a derby for the ages!! No, I am not cheering for them but I need a glimmer of hope here, in what context you say? Well, seeing a san siro for a derby half empty breaks my heart. Sure we sellout just about every game but this is bigger than us. I can give two fucks about Leicester winning the epl, zero fucks about sevilla winning europa league back to back, zero fucks about bayern munich conceding zero goals in 5 games. No folks, I give a fuck about a serie a, a strong and competitive one. There needs to be a reason folks will watch the league on sunday over other leagues. I hope Inter brings it tomorrow, if we win by a 2 goal margin or better than serie is truelly dead and we are simply the last bit of adrenaline before the heart gives up. That heart? well folks thats the rest of the serie a fans, fuck calciopoli its been a decade since its happened. We need to move forward and get better as a league.Yes, I’ve been drinking for the last 4 hours but thats my rant :).
#finoalla fine and I live by that.
Just briefly, Jas…Inter Milean have not been a major protagonist since Mourinho and the calciopoli debacle. They were hardly a major force before then. I believe Serie A has grown stronger, not just Juve. Sassuolo are looking great (especially when all their main players are available…other than their 3 point deduction!), Napoli have restocked very intelligently and look certain to be title challengers, Roma are also much improved with Spalletti now making the side his own.
I suspect that the title race will be far closer than many have already concluded. And yet in my motherland, where the defending seems to worsen every week, it is likely that Man City will trounce the league, perhaps by a record margin.
Agreed, I would like to see AC claw their way back into contention. Never Inter…for they have been nowhere near regular pretenders to the crown for many decades.
Given how poorly Napoli and Roma have struggled in the champions league, I dont even consider them as serious teams. Naoli lost in the playoff round last year and by some miracle Roma got out of the group stage, they couldnt even beat a slovakian team……that alone speaks volume. Maybe this year will be different but my argument was a reference to the past. Sassuolo is the only team even worth mentioning as the rest of the league seems so stagnated. A good portion of the calciopoli madness is Juve’s fault as well… moggi? anyone? I dont blame inter for it I blame our management at that time. But those individuals are all gone for both clubs. I gues we are seeing the situation in different views which is fine but I still think the lack of competition in serie a does us more damage in the long run. It is probably the main reason Juve is all for the Super League.
I cannot see what you mean by blaming a portion of the calciopoli shit storm on Juve, Jas. Are you aware of the details?
We were convicted of ‘crimes’ which would normally have resulted in a fine if anything at all. I am talking of unsporting conduct such as insulting an official…we were never convicted of match fixing. Not in any court.
The punishment for these crimes were created by Moggi associates who just happened to be ruling the FIGC. Not a fine but relegation, stripping of titles and them handed to Inter.
There is a huge amount more to the story, yet the long and short is that Moggi got hold of 10s of thousands of tapped calls, which were omitted from the original trial. These more than suggested Inter especially were fixing matches. The sporting court deliberated over them, then concluded they couldn’t make any further judgments due to the statute of limitations.
(the officer in charge of the wire tap Attilio Auricchio explained…”I don’t remember…maybe something was missed.”. Maybe something was missed eh? 171,000 phone calls.)
So in terms of what Moggi has done…He was nor proven to have any special relationship with referees, nor was he proven to have fixed matches. Yes the man is dodgy as hell and extremely well connected, but that was mainly focused on our transfers. He was an exceptionally canny operator in the mercato.
I wrote a few scrappy lines on the matter many years ago>>>
https://thedissolutefox.com/calciopoli-clearing-the-shit-fog/
You don’t blame Inter for launching a witch hunt against Juve, for taking over the FIGC, creating new punishments for Juve, which handed Inter our titles, then they were revealed to have been fixing matches…and got away with it?
Facchetti: Look, I saw the score that we have had with Bertini. Four wins, four draws and four defeats.
Bergamo: Damn, ok, lets do five, four, four. But wins.
Facchetti: But tell him that its important tomorrow. He has had 12 games, all four, four, four.
Bergamo: He will move one, the one that starts with V. I still have to speak with him, but he is intelligent, and he knows how things should go. Better late than never. Listen Giacinto, we consider Sunday’s game to be a tranquil one. And we will put a debutant ref in the grid. Is that ok for you?
Facchetti: Yes ok, if you want to. It’s ok…
Bergamo: I wanted to tell, please don’t ever think about a lack of attention from my part.
Facchetti: On Sunday a debutant ref is fine for me.
Bergamo: A debutant, there is Mazzoleni.
Facchetti: Mazzoleni is from Bergamo… there is also his brother.
Bergamo: Yes, he is good and young. He has good numbers and has good promise.
Facchetti: No problem.
Bergamo: Listen, can you get me some tickets for Sunday for a client.
Facchetti: No problem, call me Friday or Saturday. Call me and…
Bergamo: Good luck.
Facchetti: Please… tell him.
Bergamo: Consider it done.
Inter vice president speaking with head of the referee designators…
Sorry to inform you, comrade, but we were well and truly fucked over by Moratti.
The case was dismissed by the courts recently as Juve are seeking EU443M in compensation. The reason for this is there is solid evidence that Inter cheated, the connections between Inter and the FIGC and the ref desgnators is damning. However, the FIGC cannot afford to accept their wrongdoing, and then pay us EU443M. So the courts refuse on their behalf. All that remains is to head to the European courts, which I believe the club will do.
There is a lot of pressure on Agnelli from Tavecchio and others saying pretty much…’come on…forget the past, you are back to the top, do you really want to muddy the leagues name? And try to cripple us financially?? Juve prove their innocence at the cost of the rest of the league? Come now, lets be fair eh?’.
It was a horrible affair which remains globally misinformed, yet when you delve into the details it is simple to see why Agnelli is gung ho in seeking compensation.
I like competition in Serie A, and as I mentioned I believe Napoli and Roma will not be too far off. Without a regular test domestically we will falter in Europe. I completely understand and agree…
You almost make me want to cheer for Inter. Please kill me if that ever happens.
I get what you’re saying but i’m sure we can all agree with TGP saying ”anyone but Inter”.
The other clubs simply can’t do what we did to return to playing in the top of Europe. They had to bring in foreign owners to attempt it, we managed to do it while staying loyal to the Agnelli family. We kept the trusted environment and a president who truely cares for the club.
I want to see a strong Serie A too, and i also don’t see this season being a difficult one for us. If you look at the results of the Italian teams in the CL and EL, it wasn’t very good. Napoli did manage to win a difficult match in Ukraine though, so maybe Napoli. Milik is being a badass so far.
JAS I think you are getting exactly what you asked for. Could you actually ask for Juve to win the 6th Scudetto and UCL? ¨I beg you.
In a way i am glad we lost today for a variety of reasons. Allegri looked clueless today, all the way up to the last 15 minutes. Clearly Asamoah is not good enough to be in the starting line up, I hope we Allegri realizes that. Inter was the better team folks, no shame in admitting that. I like the fact that they made us struggle today, in contrast it will only make us better and more competitive in the log run. Mandzukic is completely useless without wingers. I still dont get why cuadrado isnt playing at all, what the hell did we buy him for. 3-5-2 is dying formation folks, we’ve used it for 6 years now, I think teams know how to counter it. Allegri faces a dilema going forward, our middfieldd is lacking creativity. Pjanic can be that spark but it is only his second game folks. In the mean time I really hope we switch it up because we did not utilize dybala at all today, he was a ghost.
i think Inter was better today only because we allowed them too. i am sure Max thought this game same as it was against Sassuolo or Lazio, game plan was standard, thing is we acually have to pull it off.
Had we had Marchisio today and Pjanic instead of Asa we wouldve controlled the game as usual an Inter would have sat back, and wouldnt have got so confident, and if they did we would have punished em on the counter.
Also I´ll repeat HAD WE NOT CONCEDED. But we did, we have to tune up the defense too.
I don´t think we have to ditch 3-5-2 in Serie A just yet, but if we field it we have to actually be able to pull it off.
Our mercato was superb but that failure to cover a midfield quality position and Marchisio´s injury are somewhat serious issues right now.
And I agree having only 3-5-2 as realistic option early season makes us rather predicable.
but hey we were in much worse shape at this time last year, we can always get our act together again and go guns blazing 3-5-2 style in Serie A at least.
Europe is a whole other level, a whole different stage.
I Copy paste here an answer to a reply of another thread.
This is the pinaccle of my thought, my biggest conclusion. The one thing I´d say Agnelli, Allegri, Nedved and each and everyone of the players. And the one thing i want to see change. Forget about 4 man formations. That doesn´t matter.
Whoever is so sensible or does not have a hard stomach to take this and thinks of this as too reckless too relentless or even gets offended and takes this as a rant (talking to you Alban), Only this once more I will ask to bear with me. besides you don´t have to agree and i wont try to convince you, but I will be a voice for anyone who happens to think similar as me, and even if happen to be the only one because this is just what I think now and what i have thought now for the last 3 to 4 years at least. I AM CONVINCED OF THIS
Ok here it goes:
Well, actually i was trying to make two related but separate points simultaneously but apparently many didn´t get that separation.
– One thing is to propose Open games (Spanish, british german style) or closed Games (Italian style). This alone won´t win you as many titles in Europe as the next item. This only guarantees you you play the kind of soccer you like whther you please or not your fans.
This is an item more related to means or aesthetics rather than results.This matters if you care more how you win/lose rather than whther you actually win/lose.
– Another related, still different, but MUCH MORE IMPORTANT is HAVING A WINNER MENTALITY. Having it will win you UCL finalas no matter how open or closed your approach man selection or gamestyle is, and even if you play horrible and opposition plays beautiful football, YOU WILL WIN even if playing like crap.
This is an item more related to results rather than means or aesthetics.This matters if you care more to win, whether you do it playing like crap but being more effective,or wether you do it leaving everyone in awe cause they just saw the best football display of their lives. This matters if you care to win no mmatter how, no matter the cost.
If we are Juve where “winning is not important, but the only thing which matters” and we pride ourselves of being the Ultimate pragmatists, THEN WE BETTER GET A TRUE WINNING MENTALITY (Not an open game (total football) kind of mentality, i explain for thos who may still not get it). OTHERWISE WE WILL WIN NOTHING, OR VERY LITTLE FROM THIS POINT ON.
Despite whatever credibility Mina Rzouki may have she is sample of what juve outsiders think of Juve.
So what Mina is talking about right there has to do more with the approach to games and the formation choice. Which she wishes was lets call it more open, meaning more “agrressive”, therefore leading to more open games.
I would call what she is referring to as an “open game mentality” running more risks at the back in order to have much more and dangerous.
Though i expected some of that against Sevilla I think either:
– Max thinks the team is not ready YET to have more open approach to games.
Or…
– Nor the societá, nor Max are considering open approach to games AT ALL because that´s just not the Juve way. Like Chiello said that more or less Juve will never be as entertaining as say R. Madrid.
So only time will telll how that one pans out.
Now talking about THE OTHER type of mentality, and the one I think is the MUCH MORE IMPORTANT, the one that to me is VITAL, and ESSENTIAL. Is having a winning mentality.
Mybe some think winning mentality means going 1 defender 2 midfielders and 7 forwards. Which is not far from what teams like Bayern Munich actually do because in practical terms Guardiola Bayern essentially played a 4-1-4-1 (Not much different from a 4-3-3 on transitions) and which once they manage to corner the opposition actually becomes a 2 defenders 3 midfielders and 5 Attackers meaning a 2-3-5, sound familiar? 3-5-2 inverted. Which a team like Juve tried to naturally mirror in Conte days fielding a 3-5-2 to NEUTRALIZE Bayern pure Italian style. Still that one Failed Miserably against Heynckes machine which beat us with Fullback/winger tandems (Alaba/Ribery, Lahm/Robben).
So on that match:
– We didn´t have an open game, but a closed game pure Juve “italian” style. just like against Sevilla.
– But MORE IMPORTANTLY we didn´t have winning mentality either. Because what team comes to pitch with an underdog or freightened mentality? so that wether you call it lack of concentration or outright fear you concede dressing room kind of goal like the one Alaba scored against us? Was not that essentially the same that happened against Barca at UCL final? when we conceded at minute for to Rakitic? Because if you plan to play pure italian style but at crucial and vital matches you concede within the 1st ten minutes of every game then let me tell you italian way plan failed miserably.
THE ITALIAN WAY, ITALIAN STYLE FOOTBALL REQUIRES TRUE WINNING MENTALITY no matter whether you propose and open (Total Football) or a closed game (Catenaccio) with your approach, man selection, and formation.
And thats where most at every site and even many at JuveFC seem to be quite oblivious about. misunderstanding and confusing both things, pretending me to be saying things I have not said, and even call it I am ranting. Well if I ever again see us concede within the 1st ten minutes out of shaking legs then YOU CAN COUNT ON ME RANTING YET AGAIN IN THE FUTURE UNTIL I SEE SOME MENTALITY CHANGE.
Most would likely try and fool themselves and call it lack of concentration, I am much more direct and call that LACK OF WINING MENTALITY, WRONG UNDERDOG MENTALITY. or even LOSER MENTALITY. Was that same problem not the undoing of Atletico Madrid in both UCL finals against R.Madrid?
More than closed match approaches or Neutralizing type formations, meaning more than “Closed Game Mentality” what loses you Titles be it domestic or UCL finals is the other kind of mentality, the more important one “Lack of Winning Mentality, Loser Mentality, wrong Underdog Mentality”. So whenever Max implicitly calls Juve underdogs or dark horses My antenna´s my ears, and my alarm sense AWAKES, and I want to read between the lines. What kind of Underdog is he talking about? the worng kind of underdog which concedes games out of shaking legas even before 10 mins of a game? or the right kind of underdog which gives a sense of inferiority pre-matches, only to REBEL and have an “in your face”, a defiant, and ballsy attitude in game with Winning Mentality.
https://puu.sh/rfxO0/f33a45b948.png
Even though it was ruled offside, terrible first touch from Khedira. Should we worry?
Well that was a difficult first half. Chiellini almost cost us a goal and hope Benatia’s injury is not serious.
Something wrong with Juve. Id put in Pjaca. Now. Not at 85 min
Not much going wrong except we are playing without a regista. Pjaca might come at min 80 as Second striker.
So far game is pretty much within plans, we have not conceded, same as with Sevilla we have created some chances but haven´t finished em.
Now let Inter wear off having them assuming protagonism, hit em and punish on the last 15 mins. 15 more mins of pulling teeth on defense before that.
i can already picture the press conference.
We didnt create as much as we should and therefore couldn´t didnt finish. We need to improve our ball possession and creation phases.
Wow
SANDRO!!! I mean LICHS!!!
He plays and he scores. Fucking love Lichtsteiner!
Stephhhhhhhhannnnnnnn Liiiiiiichtsteiiiiineeeeerrr
THIS CUNT
Who?
Icardi, everytime he scores against us. Hate him actually lol
Wanna see Pjaca!!
Please don´t say that, even if tru. Juve has a knack for hiring the guys who like to score against us. i don´t want Icardi at Juve
Great game
Inter had more Italians in the starting 11 than we did. That’s kinda shameful imo.
What the hell are we doing?
3-5-2 #1 goal is to not concede, today we failing on that one.
Talk about sitting back and letting the other team actually start to believe they can win against Juve.
Playing calcio
Now i understand!
ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!
Fml
Please dont lose to Inter just not them
Don´t panic. according to plan Inter should be tired on last 15 mins and we should punish em for that (even if we are a bit tired from defending). We can still try to tie, or even win.
Really?
I actually think that has been the gameplan all along, drawback is we were supposed to not concede, we have done it twice. luckily we scored one already, so theres always hope. Prayt o God
Asamoah!!
Do you guys really think Juve deserves fucking 3 points tonight?
in terms of italian way NO. In terms of a more open football YES
As long as we win I dont care if we deserve it.
No i don’t think we do. Inter are fighting their hearts out and have forced 2 goals on us, even though we are playing a shitty 2nd half. A draw maybe but alot needs to happen for us to deserve the 3 points.
Something not right with Juve.
Yes, the midfield is a muddled mess.
We miss our leader in midfield.
Im shocked about Asamoah. Wow
Shocked, really? Most predictable screw up in the world… I’m nauseated by this midfield
Now we in the last 15 mins should be cornering inter under siege. And above all converting to goals our chances
Dybala wtf!!
Kay, we lost to Inter.. Bitter pill to swallow.. Good thing we have some easier teams coming up, seems like the team is having some issues to work out.
Didnt manage to see the game, only just arrived home so I cant say anything about the game itself.
Dont panic boys. It is not the end of the world, had we not conceded and taken our chances this game wouldve scored a 10.
Now Max will say Serie A is not a sprint but a Marathon and we must take back this points on some other game.
The commentator on the TV signal I use ESPN latin america who is Italian and is a freaking Guru of calcio (vitto de Palma) stressed Juve conceded from set pieces (corner kicks, free kicks) only twice last season. He stresses we have concede 3 goals from set pieces in 4 games. We should be taking note of that one.
If we dont concede, have a proper regista, bench Asamoah, and also with some more time for the machine to be more well oiled we should go back to the same amount of Control of games and creativity as last year, or even Sassuolo game level. From there the challenge is to actually convert our chances
Oh well maybe we needed that defeat, maybe we will come back stronger than ever. Sometimes you have to take one step back to make three steps forward. Maybe this will be a wake up call for all of us, maybe you know what fuck me, that was awful we played like shit, hope i can sleep on it somehow this loss is so hard to swallow reminding me of that 1-3 loss when we had 49 games streak
Wasn’t that 3-1 loss at the start of the season in which we reached the CL final? Or was that a loss to Fiorentina?
no, I think he refers a loss against Bologna 1-0 that blew our record. Didnt take a big gun for that one. Sandro made a mistake on that goal, on the buildup of play from defense. Or maybe I am confused, that was gigis record. My bad. Maybe that 49 streak fell with a 3-1 score like he says. Id have to look for that one.
That was 2012-November I believe. Kind of similar game we scored first, played horrible, went into full panic mode after conceding 2. Switched to 4-4-2 from 3-5-2.
Am starting to think we need to splash the cash for Verrati. Have Marchisio/Verrati as regista let Pjanic play TQ or Mezzala Unless Pjanic REALLY learns to be a regista. Today was a 1st time a bit underwhelming, he can always improve.
We won’t get Kante now Seb, he’s only just signed for Chelsea. Doubtless his wages are going to push toward Higuain’s.
Yeah I fear as much. Maybe it could eventually turn out as it did with higuain a few years from now. We wanted him even before he went to Napoli, we got Tevez insted which was similar.
Yes, we played horribly.
And the worst thing is, it was obvious that we would just by looking at the line-up. Asamoah is simply not a midfielder (anymore). To see him step into the Pogba slot is sickening. Pjanic is a gifted player but cannot provide intensity or leadership. He can add something special to a team that’s already solid, but he is no Pirlo.
It’s shameful that our midfield is reduced to this.
Agreed. Hope Marchisio’s return will be the solution, until then Allegri has to figure out something, we have important CL matches and those are must win games.
No way to know how much a deployment works/fails until tried or tested. Trial an error always leads to improvement even if you take some failures in the process. I am sure Max will start to take note and learn from this one.
I think that Marotta and Max Allegri should be able to predict how certain players will work out in certain situations. I’m talking about obvious, self-evident stuff. If a fan can see it coming before it happens, the pros should see it too.
Well I didn´t forecast Asamoah underwhelming because actually at pre season he physically looked really good to me, strong quick with technique holding the ball, solid defensively, but so far it seems thats pretty much it a defensive solution. I think the problem is he seems devoid of creativity and incisiveness. Which i think Max was not going to find out until he tried. now 2 games and counting with pretty much sterile performances on attack, so maybe now he starts reconsidering Asa as CM.
Seems like he forgot the position now he is neither a quality wingback (like he was deployed as in the Conte era) nor a CM. Which if he doesnt step up should mean him not being a starter. Maybe Max should try Sturaro CM or go lemina Pjanic Khedira full time. Though since Max is rotating players Asa can still play any day.
It seems taht wont be fixed for good until Marchisio is back or next mercato.
+1
Its a result for a team that is lacking identity right now. In the first half I dont think we created a single chance. Inter was the better team today folks, there is no denying that. Asamoah was confused and out of position, Dybala was tied up with two defenders constantly. The biggest dissapointment was mandzukic, he was completely useless today folks. I am not sure why Higguain didnt start, I guess perhaps he is not fully fit for 90 minutes. Sandro had a mixed game, a great assist but also gave the ball to inter for the second goal. This is proof that 3-5-2 is starting to fade in serie a as well. Its a shame really, we fielded a solid team but there was no creativity whatsoever. Lemina deserves more minutes than asamoah folks.
I don´t think a team can lose identity from one game to another. Against Sassuolo our identity was intact.
I agree Asa was underwhelming, but main issue to me was Pjanic was not regista pretty much at all. and 3-5-2 relies so heavily on regista and cm´s to perform well, because wingbacks were alright today. Lich was at his usual best, and Sandro was fine on both phases att/def.
I think Pjanic Asa alone render the system sterile.
maybe mandzukic didn´t do as much but I don´t think it was his fault at all. The 2 upfront rely pretty much 100% on midfield doing its job which today they didn´t.
khedira was a bit off too but not awful.
Also we conceded goals wchich if we didn´t wouldve been a 1-0 win
Sandro gave the ball away to inter for the second goal so I dont think he had that good of a game. Look, for a team that spent this much money we’ve hardly produced any good results against better teams. Dont forget Sassuolo was without Berardi on that evening. I disagree about Mandzukic, he is very slow and the only time he is a threat is during set pieces. Today he was completely useless in my opinion, I hope Pjaca gets a bit more playing time next game so that we can see what he can do. The last two games there was literally no creativity whatsoever, I think Pjanic just needs a bit of time to settle in I mean it is only his second game. Asamoah doesnt belong in the starting 11 in my opinion. He brings nothing to the team really, every passes is made backwards or across, nothing moves forward with him in the game.
I actually agree with you, all i am saying is i don´t think Sandro´s performance or Mandzukic were the main factor today.
For all I care i would kind of relieve Sandro of some defensive duties and play an aggressive 3-5-2 have those 3 at the back + regista handle figure out defense themselves.
I think thats what we should have 3 at the back four, If we have an extra man on defense it better pay off.
So just to not let our BBC hold the entire defense I wish we had Kante ahead of defense, someone who can break up play but also have 1st pass, somewhat dictate tempo, and connect defense to midfield. we could also have sturaro helping defense, that would be 5 men defending, that should be at least enough for defense against a team like Inter.
Pretty sure it was Asamoah who gave away the second goal…
It was in Sandro’s position. I thought Sandro too at first.