Juventus are so completely decimated by injuries right now that the result of Wednesday night’s Champions League trip to England to face Aston Villa — a second scoreless draw in five days — really does seem like a best-case scenario.
That kind of thinking is usually something I despise. I usually call it out as the attitude of a small club. This is not a small club. This is Juventus. “Winning isn’t important, it’s the only thing that matters” is a phrase seared into the club’s very soul.
But when only 17 players are fit enough to play, three of them are goalkeepers, and none of them are natural strikers, it’s close to impossible to pass that kind of judgement. The Old Lady is currently in a situation where she must first survive, and anything else becomes a bonus.
That’s not to say one can’t come away from Wednesday night with some frustration. Juventus may not have created much, but they were in firm control of the match for much of the evening, and at times one couldn’t help but get the feeling that if Dusan Vlahovic was on the field, Juventus could’ve — maybe should’ve — won this game. They throttled the Villans for much of the night. Striker Ollie Watkins was all but removed from the equation, and his fellow forwards didn’t fare much better. The Bianconeri were’t creating a whole ton of their own, either, but it felt like if they could find that one moment, they’d likely run out of Birmingham with a win.
That moment came within millimeters of happening midway through the second half, only for Emilano Martinez to somehow claw a header from Francesco Conceição (words I never thought I’d type) off of his goal line.
Villa had their own near-moment on the last kick of the game, when Michele Di Gregorio went up for a last-ditch free kick and dropped it. Morgan Rogers hit it into the empty net, but after a VAR check the goal was disallowed for a foul by Diego Carlos, who had planted his elbow into Di Gregorio’s ribs as the two had both jumped for the ball.
The call — which has generated a ton of controversy in English media but was pretty dang clear if you ask me — allowed Juve to take the point and run. But, as lucky as that last-second escape was, there’s also the lingering feeling that the result could have been different had Juve been just a little bit more healthy.
Unfortunately for Juve manager Thiago Motta, his team was anything but healthy. Apart from the season-enders to Bremer and Juan Cabal, Juve were missing Vlahovic, Arkadiusz Milik, Nico Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Vasilije Adzic, and Weston McKennie to various muscular and joint maladies. Motta had to fill out his 4-2-3-1 with what healthy players he had. Di Gregorio started in goal, with Nicolò Savona, Pierre Kalulu, Federico Gatti, and Andrea Cambiaso arrayed in front of him. Manuel Locatelli and Khephren Thuram played in the double pivot, while Conceição joined Teun Koopmeiners and Kenan Yildiz in support of false nine Timothy Weah.
Unai Emery had far more at his disposal, although he was trying to usher his squad through a rough patch of form. The English side was winless in their last six in all competitions, including four losses and an ugly 2-2 draw against EPL bottom dweller Crystal Palace. Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey were out, while Ezri Konsa wasn’t fit to start. Martinez was at the base of another 4-2-3-1. Matty Cash, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, and Lucas Digne made up the back four, while Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara manned the midfield. Leon Baily, John McGinn, and Rogers spread out behind Watkins in attack.
Juve started the game and began a pattern that was on display for much of the first half. The Bianconeri held a good deal of possession — at some points nearly 65 percent — but the majority of it was in their own half, moving from side to side while trying to invite Villa to come out of their shape. The home team, who had in the run-up to the game acknowledged that the team gave up too much in transition, didn’t oblige. In fact, Villa ended up with the game’s first shot after Torres made a near-post run on a corner and skimmed his header just over the crossbar.
For a few minutes, it looked like Villa was beginning to even the game flow out, but Juve got their first sight at goal when Locatelli found Yildiz with a great switch, but the young Turk pulled his shot well wide after cutting inside.
Juve continued to control the action, picking times to press and forcing Villa into some mistakes, only to play incredibly conservatively with the ball at their own feet. The middle of the field wasn’t as completely devoid of occupancy as it was on Saturday, but without the reference point of a true striker the play remained discombobulated. What shots Juve did manage tended to be from well outside and quite inaccurate. Watkins, meanwhile, put the first shot on target of the game, but Di Gregorio smartly parried it around the post. Weah missed another long-range shot — though this time it was a lot closer relative to his position on the field. It was Conceição who got the first shot on target for Juve, trying to sneak one past Martinez at the near post, but the Argentina international got down to claim. Digne gave Di Gregorio an almighty scare just before halftime when he clanged a corner off the top of the crossbar.
Conceição begged for a penalty four minutes after the restart, but the ball had hit the arm of Pau Torres that was tight to his body and just missed his other arm, which was flailing in an unnatural position and would surely have caused a penalty.
Martinez’s incredible save came with 25 minutes left in the game, a truly remarkable stop after a corner kick had bounced all the way through to an unmarked Conceição at point-blank range. Five minutes later McGinn popped up in the box and fired from close in on his own, only to see Locatelli dig the ball off of the line.
Aston Villa v Juventus - UEFA Champions League - League Stage - Villa Park Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images
The worst news of the game was sandwiched into the midway point of the half: Savona left the field in the company of trainers, potentially adding ANOTHER injury to Juve’s laundry list. Still, Juve remained rock-solid in defense, even after the introduction of Villa supersub Jhon Duran with 12 minutes to go.
Proceedings proceeded at pace until the very last kick of the game, when Diego Carlos collided with Di Gregorio. Spanish ref Jesus Gil Manzano, blew his whistle for the final time a few seconds later, leaving both teams without a main attacker.
LE PAGELLE
MICHELE DI GREGORIO - 6.5. Was alert to any and all danger around his area save for the last play, in which he was clearly impeded.
NICOLÒ SAVONA - 6. Another day, another performance that shows Savona truly belongs at this level. His counting stats weren’t big, but he continuted to show all the defensive instincts of a much older man. Hope that injury he left with is INCREDIBLY minor or even just a cramp.
PIERRE KALULU - 6.5. Absolutely neutered Watkins as an offensive threat. Wasn’t racking up the counting stats, but no one could do too much as the Villans threatened to leave Villa park.
FEDERICO GATTI - 6.5. He’s becoming the defensive backbone that we lost when Bremer went down. No one can get through him, and his technique has been played a vital part of keeping Juve sterflight, right?
ANDREA CAMBIASO - 6. Not as involved in buildup play as he usually is, but he still had a key pass and, more importantly, co-led the team in tackles while keeping Bailey quiet out wide.
MANUEL LOCATELLI - 7. Made Juve tick, making quality passes (including one key pass) and making three tackles while blocking two shots and seemingly showing up everywhere on defense.
Aston Villa FC v Juventus - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD5 Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
KHEPHREN THURAM - 6. His pass completion left something to be desired, but his energy in midfield was palpable, and he too helped recover the ball multiple times. More of this version of Khephren, please!
FRANCISCO CONEIÇÃO - 7. Continues to be the most dangerous Juventus player on the field. Digne managed to beat him defensively a time or two, but overall he was the biggest conduit of the team’s attack. He completed a whopping nine dribbles, and was the only Juve player to find the target with a shot. If he’d put just a teeny bit more power on that header in the second half, Juve may come how with a win.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS - 5.5. Having a difficult time in this strikerless system, and it’s showing in his play. But even with all that, he led the game in key passes with three, so he’s not completely useless.
KENAN YILDIZ - 5.5. Juve overwhelmingly attacked down the right today, but he still managed to record six dribbles. He was also excellent tracking back and defending, making three tackles and two interceptions defensively.
TIMOTHY WEAH - 5.5. Didn’t get hold of the ball much, but completed 95.7 percent of his passes and came very close on a long-range effort.
SUBS
DANILO - 5.5. Solid on the flank in relief of the injured Savona, and completed 100 percent of his passes.
SAMUEL MBANGULA - NR. Did his best to try to goose the attack late, but didn’t make much an impact overall.
NICOLÒ FAGIOLI - NR. Spotted mostly higher up the pitch when on the attack during the few minutes he was on.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
I mean, what can you even say? There’s hardly anything any coach can do under the circumstances Thiago Motta is currently working under. There’s precious little he can do to change a game with only four outfield players available on the bench.
Aston Villa FC v Juventus - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD5 Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
Under the circumstances, Motta is doing a excellent job keeping the team as together as it’s been. Keeping two clean sheets in five days with such a limited roster is a hell of an accomplishment. Yes, you want wins, and yes, there’s a feeling, especially against Aston Villa, that there was that little bit of a missed opportunity to take home a win. But, right now, the team is keeping its head above water under extreme circumstances, which is something that can’t be said about it just a few months ago during their second-half swoon.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sunday sees a winnable game down south at Lecce, then Juve start a run of four consecutive home games with a visit from Bologna, then Manchester City comes to town for a prime Champions League contest.