Sassuolo 1-1 Juventus

By tdf, October 19, 2014

Approaching this fixture many, if not all of us, were expecting a dominant triumph. First v last. Surely a handsome victory and all we would be left to speak of after the final whistle was the manner of our victory?. What transpired however, was nothing of the sort…

Zaza rivaled Tevez for the most potent forward on the field throughout. I kept thinking to myself ‘all Simone needs is Pirlo, to find him on his consistently intelligent and dangerous runs’. It was no surprise when he scored. Yet it must be noted, that the defensive effort and concentration of Chiellini and Bonucci was atrocious. Yes we can focus on Evra for allowing the cross which led to Zaza finding the space in the first phase, but after which, it is criminally shocking for the striker to have been afforded not one, but two bites at the cherry in quick succession. This was a terrible goal to concede. Something you would expect to perhaps witness on the training ground at the end of a tough day of stamina work. Zaza is very interesting indeed, yet he is no Aguero or Ronaldo, and we gave him two glorious chances to strike at goal within the space of 10 seconds.

Pogba’s riposte was quality, as was the frenchman’s play throughout. Yet despite the encouraging efforts of Pereyra, it was clear that Pirlo and the Argentine were a pale imitation of Vidal and the Marchisio we have known and valued thus far this term. Indeed, the bearded wonder is feeling his way back to match sharpness and Claudio was rested, partly due to his international duties, but also in view of our european exploits next week. Regardless of the reasoning, our central midfield was basically lame. Only Pogba showed strength.

And it proved no surprise for the goal to come from his majestic lower paws. Yet he could and should have done much better when waltzing through the opposing defence later on in the game and shooting directly at the keeper.

We achieved a draw in this game largely, if not solely, due to the exceptional quality of Tevez and Pogba. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Positives-

Tevez remains in the best form witnessed for many moons. His tenacity is world class and he has talent on the ball. His fierce determination to chase what others might see as lost cause led to our goal and could have led to more.

Ogbonna showed the greatest strength of all centrebacks. On the one time he lost the ball through his own erroneous endeavour, he made amends by storming back to cover. His pace and strength and reading of the game are returning, slowly but surely to the top drawer quality he showed for Torino which encouraged us to throw 13m EUROS across the city.

Pogba had a decent game, scored a quality goal, yet he needs to do more, he needs to learn when to hold back on throwing his herculean physique into challenges, and also, must improve his finishing. Regardless of these bothers, he remains probably the finest and most promising central midfielder in the world. Far from possessing lightning pace, his control of he ball and beastly muscle make him almost impossible to knock of the ball and very hard indeed to tackle. I am pleased to see him playing in what some fans would see as an opportunity to rest a 21 year old (hohoho!), for only more games will smooth out his creases.

It makes me sigh when I read of others shoe-horning Roberto Pereyra into a vice-Vidal role, for they are not in any way whatsoever, other than in top feathers, comparable. It is plain wrong, misleading and lacking appreciation of the game and player to constantly compare the two. I will state this once and hope it is enough…Vidal is a world class box to box midfielder, whose heart, warrior spirit, tenacity in the tackle, ability to cover, intelligence in terms of forward runs and finishing prowess mark him out, when he is at his very best, as second only to Yaya Toure. Roberto Pereyra was at Udinese and remains until further notice an eager to create, energetic, decent paced, always forward running midfielder, happy to play across the offensive midfield areas with much work to do on his end product. Allegri does not ask him to play the Vidal role. They have different strengths and are at vastly different stages of development and maturity. So please, stop judging Pereyra on his ability to mimic Vidal. That is not just overly blinkered, but suggests you do not see past hairstyles…

Judging Pereyra in terms of what he can offer as a player…he is improving, making intelligent runs, producing decent lay-offs, with his shooting still, as it was at Udinese, wayward. His complete lack of defensive zeal makes life harder for Lichsteiner and adds weight to suggestion of a change in formation.

The Negatives…

Big Leo had a wretched game, and he should be fined for his booking, for it was absolutely an expression of the less welcome proclivities of his character. He was also guilty of ball watching for the goal we conceded and his lumping of the ball forward for the final action of the match summed up his pitiful mindset at the worst of times.

Chiellini continues to cause concern.

Pirlo needs to be slowly re-introduced into the first team and offered telegraphed passing, and slowed down every offensive move which we attempted. He also lost the ball in dangerous situations and rather than give chase, arrested his movement and expected a free kick.

Llorente was horrible. Perhaps the worst I have seen him in our colours. Clearly he is been tasked with playing a link-up role, which he can perform well enough, but his strengths are not found with his back to goal, they are found in the box, on the end of crosses and intelligent passes, but I can only assume, he has been asked to provide the link-up play. WHY? It makes no sense when we have the ultra offensive Pereyra and Pogba in midfield, and Tevez doing the running in between the lines of more than one man.

Overall we were passably solid defensively, showed little real quality on the ball other than with Pogba and Tevez, and on the balance of play, Sassuolo were well worth their point.

Had we not thrown so many gold nuggets towards Spain, I would assume that Beppe would be readying an early 15m bid for Zaza in January. That cheeky beast reminds me somewhat of Vialli. Always on the shoulder of the last defender, always eager to battle physically and he can shoot.

Marchisio seemed awful, absolutely shocking, and was given a fair half hour to show at least a hint of quality, which he failed to do so.

Yet again, I have found myself watching Juve struggle to overcome a determined, well organized peasant team, thereafter found Chelsea in a similar situation. The english champions elect made short work of such opponents. Whilst we were…not lucky, but should be happy, with a draw. Money of course plays a difference, yet once that conversation is finished, the fact remains, that we are nowhere near the very best of the premiership, and probably a similar distance away from Bayern and Real.

Despite the absence of any improvement in our play, it was somewhat encouraging to see Allgeri changing the formation. The transition must come, and every transition involves haphazard ups and downs. This match was certainly one of the downs. Birth pains of the new era we must endure. Nothing new can come of stagnation. Nothing new can come without finding kinks in the armour of who we want to become, then fixing them and moving forward with belief and confidence.