After enduring some serious criticism for their failure to win games, Juventus bounced back with a superb 4-0 Coppa Italia victory over Cagliari that showed the true quality of Thiago Motta’s side.
Saturday had seen the Bianconeri slump to their 10th draw in 16 rounds of Serie A action, rock bottom Venezia the latest to take a point away from the Turin giants. The end of that encounter – analysed in this previous column – saw Dusan Vlahovic and Juve supporters engaging in an angry spat.
However, as kick-off against Cagliari approached, the club’s Ultra groups came together to unveil a banner supporting the Serbia striker which read "an isolated incident does not erase the past, you have always been respected by us. Juventus DV9 and Ultras united until the end!"
Juventus injuries prompt reshuffle
With Juve – already without Gleison Bremer and Juan Cabal – being able to ill-afford any more injuries in defence, Motta reshuffled his lineup to rest players, pressing Manuel Locatelli and Weston McKennie into service in a makeshift backline.
It seemed set to be another difficult night for the home side as Cagliari – who grabbed a 1-1 draw against Juventus back on October 6 – carved through the Bianconeri in the opening minute, goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio somehow denying a sliding Gianluca Lapadula.
But from there it was all Juve. A clever ball from Teun Koopmeiners got Vlahovic behind the Cagliari defence but he fired over the bar, then Kenan Yildiz had a volleyed effort blocked by Mateusz Wieteska.
Francisco Conceicao saw one shot curl narrowly wide, then drew a superb save from Simone Scuffet with another effort shortly after. The deadlock was finally broken just before half-time as a clever pass from Yildiz found Vlahovic, who controlled it on the turn and slotted it between the ‘keeper’s legs.
Whatever Motta said during the break clearly worked as the Bianconeri began the second 45 minutes in impressive fashion, pressing forward in search of more goals. A free kick fully 30 yards out was dispatched into the top corner by Koopmeiners, prompting perhaps Juve’s best spell of the game.
Vlahovic dinked a wonderful chip over Scuffet but the effort was ruled out for offside, then the Cagliari goalkeeper denied Francisco Conceicao before a header from an unmarked Nico Gonzalez was deflected wide by Lapadula.
Another strike from Vlahovic was denied by an offside decision, and the former Fiorentina striker could only find the side netting after a great run took him round a helpless Scuffet.
The Old Lady would finally get a third goal as Francisco Conceicao curled a left-footed effort into the bottom corner, before Gonzalez completed the rout with what was undoubtedly the best goal of the game.
Thiago Motta happy with Juventus victory
“It was a good performance, the fans were right behind us as always,” Thiago Motta told Canale 5 shortly after the final whistle. “As I said the other night, they have the freedom to respectfully express their feelings at times, but we need them.
“These lads are going through a tough situation in the right way, giving their all in every training session. At times we are able to get positive results, at others we don’t. It’s not because we are Juventus, but because we have players of great quality as we saw today and should aim high.”
That view was echoed by a number of players, with Michele Di Gregorio giving a rare interview as he looked forward to Juve’s next game and a trip to the Stadio Brianteo to take on his former club Monza.
"It was a night we needed, we managed to score four goals and not concede any,” the ‘keeper told reporters. “We are happy, winning leads to more wins and we were looking for this victory. We know we have to go to Monza and continue on this path.
“For me it's a special match, we'll work over the next few days to prepare for Sunday's game in the best possible way.”
Finally winning, Juventus will hope to end the year with victories over Monza, then Fiorentina.