The best of Juve, the worst of Fiorentina, and vice versa

The Venn Diagram of Fiorentina weaknesses and Juventus strengths inevitably resulted in a 1-0 away win, writes Susy Campanale.

The match that performed out on the Stadio Franchi on Sunday night was the apex of what each Fiorentina and Juventus deliver to the pitch. If you happen to had to attract up a Venn Diagram of the relative strengths and weaknesses of those two sides, it might appear to be the warmth map of this recreation. With that in thoughts, it felt inevitable that it ought to finish 1-0 to the Bianconeri.

It’s superb to assume all the way in which again to August when pundits, gamers and followers had been so enthusiastically declaring this is able to be a brand new Juventus, one which went on the assault, was extra artistic and gave freedom to its gifted forwards. That was not a lot a false daybreak as a counterfeit one, lulling everybody into the lure of Allegriball.

One of many nice ironies of the Italian language is that Allegri means ‘joyful,’ which is the alternative of what anybody will really feel sitting by means of one in every of Max’s matches. This 1-0 win on the Stadio Franchi was most likely his absolute favorite efficiency, one spent solely underneath siege, defending 38 crosses into the field, barely ever bothering to get previous the centre-circle in case his gamers obtained vertigo.

It’s simple to sneer – and all of us do – however Juve are nonetheless second within the Serie A desk, solely two factors off leaders Inter. They proceed to grind out outcomes doing the naked minimal and as soon as they do take the lead, they’re terribly tough to interrupt down. It’s stated that assault wins Cup competitions, defences win league titles, and 6 clear sheets in a row is a reasonably stable basis to construct on. Whether or not they’re able to, and even remotely excited about, including some ornament to that brick wall stays to be seen.

For all of the groans about Juventus defending, the very fact stays Fiorentina have misplaced three Serie A matches in a row with out discovering the online. It was most positively not by means of need of making an attempt, if something it’s the alternative, as their performances reek of desperation. Their forwards fling themselves on the ball reasonably than attempt to steer it, they find yourself moving into the incorrect positions or wandering offside due to their rush to get the end.

When Nico Gonzalez doesn’t rating, Fiorentina most likely gained’t both. It can not simply be the fault of the forwards, as a result of Vincenzo Italiano’s group have carried out this since he arrived, going by means of Arthur Cabral, Luka Jovic, Lucas Beltran and M’Bala Nzola, all of them placed on a Viola jersey and are instantly unable to hit a barn door. Let’s not even get into the ever-wasteful Christian Kouame and Jonathan Ikone, who’re forwards in identify alone.

You may take a look at the statistics of this match and say Juve had been pinned again by 38 crosses into the field, or you possibly can learn it as Fiorentina being fully incapable of discovering an alternate path to aim. They had been actually banging their crosses in opposition to a brick wall and at no level thought-about perhaps some fast passes to toes, the place the likes of Bremer and Daniele Rugani would battle.

It’s comprehensible that they might pursue this, as after all of the Viola’s biggest energy underneath Italiano has been their energy within the air on crosses, but it surely turns into obvious there isn’t any Plan B when that doesn’t work.

This group underneath Italiano is astoundingly irritating, as they appear to do all the pieces proper besides the ending. That has been true of Fiorentina for years now, but it surely has by no means been extra apparent than when pinning Juve again for 90 minutes with solely a few actual Wojciech Szczesny saves to point out for it. There comes a degree the place it’s onerous to inform the place Juve’s energy begins and Fiorentina’s weak spot ends.

Twitter: @SusyCampanale