The weeks follow one another and are similar in Piedmont. After a flourishing transfer window, Thiago Motta’s new Juventus started its rejuvenation very strongly with two big victories in Serie A, against Como (3-0) then Hellas Verona (3-0). Three consecutive goalless draws (0-0) brought the Bianconeri back to earth, before giving way to a daily life full of ups and downs. The excitement of the new resolutely offensive project carried by a modern and appreciated coach with growing popularity finally recalled nostalgic flanges of a Juventus that was not as attractive and entertaining as it was under Massimiliano Allegri. Journalists are less and less tender with the former Inter and PSG midfielder. Fans are even starting to lose patience. The fault lies in a redundancy of services in the championship. Juventus does not lose but has great difficulty in stringing together series of victories to the great dismay of all Turin followers.
“Probably a few draws too many. We have a very young team and a lot of injuries which should not be an alibi. The boys made a big physical and mental effort, now let’s see for the next race this week. The word crisis is an exaggeration. Too many draws, but only two defeats: we are not satisfied, we want to win more. Today, there is only work to achieve victories, injuries have never been an alibi. There were a lot of absences today as in the past, the squad is young: in the end, I have to thank the boys because they are making a huge effort. We play with these situations every three days, we have to manage them well», Declared the Italian coach after the draw on Saturday against Torino (1-1) during the Derby della Mole in the championship. The Bianconeri hoped to rediscover the taste of victory during last night’s game against Atalanta.
13 draws in 20 days!
While the Bianconeri had managed to open the scoring thanks to Pierre Kalulu, as too often this season, Juventus cracked and Matteo Retegui equalized for Atalanta, thus leading to the 13th draw in Serie A in 20 contested days: “We are certainly not satisfied with the result, but I recognize the effort and the performance. I thank the boys, they played a great match today. We didn’t have a great performance today, that’s for sure. But these guys give their best in every match. I don’t need to repeat myself: we know what we’ve been through and what we’re going through, but these guys continue to deliver important performances. We did the right thing and Kalulu’s goal didn’t happen by chance, it was a collective action in which everyone participated. We’re definitely not happy with the draw and we still want to win, but it’s my duty to recognize the performance of these guys“, explained Thiago Motta.
Thiago Motta’s Juventus have obtained 34 points after 20 games this season, compared to 49 last season at the same stage with Massimiliano Allegri. The difference of -15 points is the worst among the teams present in the two campaigns of the competition. The Italian coach wants to continue to believe in his project and is not worried. It’s a real paradox that the Old Lady is experiencing since despite still being undefeated in the championship, she is still ranked in a tough 5th position: “The good spirit is still there, these guys demonstrated it once again. It’s true that we shoot a lot, but we can’t just shoot because we work every day to win. We have to get back on track and we hope to find victory in the next match. This is our vision for the next challenge“. With the arrivals of Randal Kolo Muani and Alberto Costa, Thiago Motta already has his first winter reinforcements to do better.
