In a season when Juventus kept us alert and wondering which version of them will appear on a game-by-game basis, the one who is able to beat anyone in Serie A was the one who jumped off the bus and took the field at San Siro at night Wednesday.
The good Juventus definitely appeared at Milan.
Fueled by a hell of two goals from Federico Chiesa and a final exclamation point from Weston McKennie, Juventus got the victory they DESPERATELY needed against league leader AC Milan. This 3-1 victory, Juve’s second consecutive victory after the short holiday break, was the kind of declaration game opportunity they needed to take advantage of when it was right in front of them. This was the chance to catch Milan when they were short of players and without some of their most important players due to injuries and COVID-19. (Juve also suffered from a shortage of labor due to injuries and COVID-19, so take it as you like.)
And Juve answered.
Things obviously look much better when you are losing the league leaders by seven points in one game less, compared to that game to compensate against Napoli and you are losing by 13 points. And as we’ve said for most of the past two weeks, Juventus cannot afford to lose any more points at this point. The margin of error, the fact that they can get away with mistakes and fight to beat teams that should win in a game here or there, is over.
Juventus played two games in this mandatory win situation and played very well in both. They got all six points. They got the lead first and really spent long periods of time in both games where they were looking really good. Like Udinese’s victory, it wasn’t perfect at all, but it sure worked.
Basically, Juventus won a game in which they needed to win.
We will say this a lot in the coming weeks, probably a good amount in the coming months and often between now and the end of the season.
The fact that Juventus needs a performance like this against a strong team like Milan – remember, they have been playing very well even without some of their players who lost Wednesday’s game – and went out and did that, is impressive.
They know what the situation is now and, for two games, played exactly as they need to. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to continue this crazy month with difficult opponents after difficult opponents, but they are doing very well in the first two games of January.
So, yes, not bad, Mr. Pirlo.
RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS
- It was a foul against Adrien Rabiot that led to Milan’s goal. Thank you all for reading.
- It was probably also a foul on Adrien Rabiot, who should have been a PK for Milan in additions. Thank you all for reading.
- Essentially, this referee was terrible from the first to the last minute. This was not something that one team clearly benefited from and the other team lost because of it. He just sucked in general.
- On a day that was completely stupid and horrible in the United States, Weston McKennie reminds us that good things can come from America. Thank you, Weston.
- Santo Federico Chiesa, Batman.
- Seriously, Chiesa looked like a player who will cost € 50 million once his contract was purchased from Fiorentina in the summer of 2022. He was absolutely fantastic in the first half, hitting one of the best left backs in the world, Theo Hernandez, and making it look like it completely easy. His two goals were great. (Seriously, if you have a chance to see the slow motion replay of your second goal, watch it 10 times. The way the ball divides the two defenders perfectly after Chiesa makes contact is mesmerizing.) This was the player who changed the game. Juve disbursed a lot of money to. He was great, just great.
- Paulo Dybala with two assists – how about that first one for Chiesa, by the way ?! – and played very well overall. Maybe, just maybe, we’re starting to see him work to get out of this early season fight he’s dealing with and we’ll be able to get the real Dybala that we’re used to watching soon.
- Maybe we should know that it would be a total fight for Rodrigo Bentancur, after he got two right passes for Milan players in the first half. So much for that really good second half of the weekend. This was difficult for my adopted son.
- Juventus just won a game in which Cristiano Ronaldo took two shots, both blocked. Not that he was bad at all, because he had some good moments and contributions, but it just shows that Juve can be more than just Ronaldo and they don’t need him to put the team on their backs each games. (As far as I know, I could be saying the exact opposite of that over the weekend or against Inter next weekend.)
- We saw discussions on this site about whether Gianluigi Buffon should play big games, essentially telling Wojciech Szczesny that he is not good enough to play big games. Well, I feel safe to say that Szczesny was EASILY one of Juve’s best players on Wednesday night. Most of the defenses he made were fantastic, and he was as good as he could have been. For Tek defenders like me, this is the moment when we pat ourselves on the back for being loyal to Juve’s No. 1.
- Danilo! Yes, Danilo. He’s still proving that ALL of us are wrong in how he’s playing this season. (In addition, that yellow card he received was complete crap.)
- Gianluca Frabotta? Gianluca Frabotta!
- Furthermore, it’s amazing what Juve is able to do defensively when Leonardo Bonucci is not a complete dump and is relatively reliable in much of the game. Leo stands.
- Repeating other post-game conversations: There is nothing better during these games with no one in the stands than listening to Buffon and Carlo Pinsoglio shouting at their teammates when Juventus have an advantage in the second half. Pinsoglio’s shrill howl after each Szczesny save was especially pleasant.
- This game was nervous as hell and incredibly fun, all at the same time. Perhaps it is a sign that Juventus is returning to being the Juventus we know best.
- That was Milan’s first defeat of the season. Not defeated anymore. You’re welcome.