After an international break of intrigue and, ultimately, a lot of change, the players at Juventus were probably happy to finally get themselves back on the field for a game. What remained to be seen was whether or not the sacking Thiago Motta in favor of club favorite Igor Tudor would have the desired effect when play started against Genoa.
So far, so good.
Juventus looked noticeably more focused than they had in the hammerings that they suffered in the two weekends before the break. They were far more solid at the back, eliminating some of the more egregious mistakes in the games against Atalanta and Fiorentina despite losing Federico Gatti halfway through the first half. The attack wasn’t scintillating, but created far more dangerous moments and forced old farmhand Nicola Leali into a couple of great saves.
Ultimately, it was a moment of incredible individual brilliance by Kenan Yildiz that decided Saturday evening’s match. It was a wonderful goal, the kind that we were expecting to see so much more of this year. The defense played well enough to see out their 1-0 victory, allowing Juventus to keep pace with Bologna and still hold their destiny in the race for the top four in their own hands.
There was much speculation about how Tudor would line up in his first game in charge of Juve, but at the end of the day he deployed the 3-4-2-1 that he’s become known for throughout his coaching career. Missing were Douglas Luiz, Andrea Cambiaso, and Arkadiusz Milik. Michele Di Gregorio started behind the back three of Gatti, Renato Veiga, and Lloyd Kelly. Tudor employed a pair of unorthodox wing-backs in Nico González and Weston McKennie, bracketing the only constant between the two coaches: the midfield pair of Manuel Locatelli and Khéphren Thuram. Kenan Yildiz and Teun Koopmeiners lined up in support of Dusan Vlahovic in attack.
Another former Juve player was in the opposing dugout. Patrick Viera had brought the Grifone from the thick of the relegation fight to a comfortable spot mid-table after taking over for Alberto Gilardino in November. Aaron Martin was unavailable to him due to yellow card accumulation, while Maxwel Cornet, Junior Messias, Vitinha, Mattia Bani, Honest Ahanor, Hugo Cuenca, and Mario Balotelli. He deployed a 4-2-3-1 that had three Juventus connections in the starting XI. The aforementioned Leali started in goal, protected by Stefano Sabelli, Koni De Winter, Johan Vásquez, and Alan Matturro. Jean Onana and Morten Frendrup started in midfield, while Alessandro Zanoli, Patrizio Masini, and Fabio Miretti started in support of Andrea Pinamonti.
Juve started well in the first 10 minutes or so, but Genoa were the first to threaten the target when Frendrup volleyed a punch from Di Gregorio right back at the keeper. The Dane got another opportunity six minutes later when Kelly got caught in possession deep in his own half by Onana, but the midfielder could only manage a tame effort that Di Gregorio handled easily.
Juve’s first big chance came a few minutes later when Thuram jumped Onana deep in the attacking third and squared the ball to Koopmeiners, who completely skewed his shot halfway up the Curva Sud.
Five minutes later, Juve were in front thanks to a gorgeous solo effort by their No. 10.
The play started, rather hilariously, with Tudor, who grabbed a ball that had rolled out of play and chucked it to Koopmeiners, practically shouting at him to take the throw quickly. It hit Vlahovic in the back, leaving it dead on the grass for Yildiz to run onto. The teenage Turk took off with the ball and bore down on De Winter. He faked the Belgian out with a deft fake, but the move carried him into an extremely tight angle from about three yards. But Yildiz took the shot perfectly, flipping it over Leali’s shoulder into the top corner on the far side.
Juventus v Genoa - Serie A Photo by Filippo Alfero - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
The joy of the goal — Yildiz’s first since Jan. 11 and Juve’s first since March 3 — was tempered by the withdrawl of Gatti, who had taken a blow to the Achilles about 10 minutes before and couldn’t keep going. Pierre Kalulu replaced him in the back three as the game went on.
The remainder of the first half saw little action except for a late shot by Vlahovic that forced Leali into a leaping save. Things remained the same as the second half began. There were a few moments where Juve came close to setting themselves up in the box. A flick off a long McKennie throw was cleared away from Koopmeiners just before he let fly a close-range volley, while Genoa’s first real threat came 10 minutes into the period when Sabelli hit a nice cross with the outside of his boot that Pinamonti met on the volley, but he pulled it a foot or so wide.
As the second half progressed, questions began to be asked of referee Antonio Rapuano, who was letting De Winter get away with blatant fouls on Vlahovic, making the Serb progressively more frustrated. But it didn’t stop him from flicking on another long throw from McKennie into a dangerous area, only to see it scrambled cleared by Matturro before some teammates on the back end could make a play. The officiating continued to disappoint, as De Winter continued to get away with murder in the Genoa defense, and Leali managed to fool Rapuano into calling González for a foul as he chased a ball on the right side of the box.
With 20 minutes left Viera sent Ruslan Malinovskyi onto the field, likely sending a chill up the spines of Juventini who remembered all too well the way the Ukraine international had burned Juve while he was at Atalanta. But it was Kalulu who next asked a question of one of the goalkeepers, getting free for a powerful header off a corner that Leali met with a sprawling parry that propelled the ball all the way over the sideline.
As it turned out, the only notable action from Malinovskyi came with seven minutes left, when he loaded up to shoot from distance but only managed to skitter it along the grass for Di Gregorio to stop easily.
Juventus v Genoa - Serie A Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
The last few minutes saw opportunities on both sides. Kelly blocked a shot from 18-year-old Lorenzo Venturino, and De Winter knocked the ensuing corner wide. Two minutes later, Yildiz tried to set up Vlahovic on the other end, but the striker got the ball caught in his feet and fumbled it. Fortunately that left it for Locatelli, who hit a powerful drive that was a little too central, allowing Leali to punch it clear.
Stoppage time saw two more chances for Juve to salt the game away, once on a short corner when Veiga hit a free header across the face of goal and wide, and another when Thuram surged downfield and pulled the ball across the box. Vlahovic dummied the ball for Timothy Weah, whose powerful drive was met with an impressive stop from Leali before the final whistle rang though the air to bring a Tudor’s first game to a close.
LE PAGELLE
MICHELE DI GREGORIO - 6.5. Commanded his box and made the saves that were presented to him, easy as they were. Certainly had to have been happy to have less to do today.
FEDERICO GATTI - NR. Looked like he was on his way to a solid game before he got hit in the heel and ultimately had to come off just a few minutes later.
RENATO VEIGA - 6.5. Strong in central defense, registering three tackles and four clearances and never getting beat.
LLOYD KELLY - 5.5. Didn’t deal with pressure well at all, and was harried into a couple of bad giveaways. Only completed 70 percent of his passes, although his defensive counting stats were decent.
NICO GONZÁLEZ - 6. A rather shocking revelation as the right wing-back. He was dynamic going up and down the field, and he caused trouble on the right side all night.
KHÉPHREN THURAM - 7. Made a pair of key passes, and was solid defensively. His engine is incredible—how he managed to pull that run at the very end of the game out of the air was insane.
Juventus v Genoa - Serie A Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
MANUEL LOCATELLI - 6.5. Led the team with four tackles and was instrumental both in Juve’s press and using his passing ability to get the ball where it needed to go quickly.
WESTON McKENNIE - 6. McKennie’s ever-expanding resume now includes left wing-back, and as usual he provided solid coverage. Ultimately, a healthy Andrea Cambiaso will be perfect in this spot, but McKennie will cover well until he returns.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS - 5. Started out like gangbusters but dropped off hard, and is still clearly struggling psychologically, but a return to his natural position could eventually coax the real Koop out.
KENAN YILDIZ - 7. What a goal that was, and it wasn’t the only time his close-in dribbling skills made for trouble for the Genoa defense. He led the team with four dribbles and also added a pair of key passes. This is an excellent position to let him loose.
DUSAN VLAHOVIC - 5.5. His control in the box let him down continually—a problem he’s had all year—but he seemed much more comfortable holding up more direct passes as opposed to joining in the intricate buildup of Motta’s system.
SUBS
PIERRE KALULU - 6. Completed 93.8 percent of his passes and kept things together defensively in Gatti’s stead. Came really close to a goal with a great header.
SERGIO CONCEIÇÃO - 6. A pair of key passes in his 25 minutes. It was interesting to see how he managed to interpret the attacking midfield role with his skill set.
TIMOTHY WEAH - NR. Only touched the ball five times, but made an important clearance and was denied a last-second clincher by a good Leali save.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
There are similarities and differences between Thiago Motta’s method and that of Igor Tudor. Both rely on a strong press, but while Motta’s tactics combine that press with intricate buildup play, Tudor prefers to be far more direct once he gains possession.
Juventus v Genoa - Serie A Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
That directness and verticality was the biggest tactical difference we saw on Saturday. The sterile passing between the defenders as they tried to find an opening was put aside, and Juventus looked to get the ball forward far more quickly. The fact that Locatelli was the team leader in touches, and that Yildiz was third, shows just how much Tudor emphasizes getting the ball to the forwards as quickly as possible.
It brought out some better performances from certain players. Vlahovic’s touch let him down repeatedly in and around the box, but he looked far more comfortable holding the ball up than he did joining in Motta’s intricate buildup play. The emergence of González as a wing-back was revelatory, and simply putting players in their most natural positions paid dividends.
There were issues, of course, considering the team had only had a handful of training sessions with their new manager, but if the team continues to mine the vein they found in this first game, a top-four finish is very much in sight.
LOOKING AHEAD
Juve head to the Stadio Olimpico in the Italian capital to face off against Roma in their next match. The Giallorossi are in the best form in the league under interim manager Claudio Ranieri, including a 1-0 win over Lecce on Saturday to move them into sixth place. After that come three eminently winnable games against Lecce, Parma, and Monza, before back-to-back games against Bologna and Lazio that could very well decide the race for the top four.