That Juventus was still in control of their own destiny in the race for Serie A’s final Champions League spot going into their final two games was in itself a minor miracle. After back-to-back draws in big head-to-head matches, they faced the prospect of getting leapfrogged for fourth place until Atalanta beat Roma last Monday to give them a reprieve.
Now, Juve had a one-point lead on their pursuers headed into two winnable games to finish the year. There was actually a chance for them to clinch their place in the top four if all three of the chasing pack lost their games. Unfortunately, Bologna was the only one of the three who obliged. But Juve still needed to take care of their own business.
For the first hour of Sunday night’s match in Turin, there was a question as to whether they’d manage to get there. Udinese provided little in the way of attacking threat, but Juventus wasn’t able to penetrate the defenses of the other black and white team in Italy.
Fortunately, this time it was Juve’s turn to capitalize on a mistake. When Nico González jumped Oumar Solet to start the sequence that saw him finish the opener, it popped the tension in the Allianz Stadium and paved the way to a 2-0 victory that put Juve one game away from sealing their spot back in the Champions League.
Igor Tudor was forced to change things up given the selection headache he was in. Kenan Yildiz came back from his two-game suspension, but Pierre Kalulu was just starting his, and Nicoló Savona and Khéphren Thuram were sitting out bans for yellow card accumulation. Combined with Teun Koopmeiners still unavailable due to injury and Federico Gatti still only being fit for the bench, he didn’t have the proper personnel to employ his usual 3-4-2-1. He switched to a 4-2-3-1, with Michele Di Gregorio starting at the base. Alberto Costa, Renato Veiga, Lloyd Kelly, and Andrea Cambiaso made up the back four. Manuel Locatelli and Weston McKennie formed the double pivot in midfield, while González, Francisco Conceição, and Yildiz supported Randal Kolo Muani in attack.
Udinese manager Kosta Runjaic was also missing key players to suspension, namely leading scorer Lorenzo Lucca. Arthur Atta was also suspended, and Isaak Touré, Florian Thauvin, Matin Payero, Jaka Bijol, and Iker Bravo were injured. Safe from relegation, Runjaic employed a 3-4-2-1. Maduka Okoye started in goal, screened by Christian Kabasele, Thomas Kristensen, and Soulet. Kinsgley Ehizhibue and Hassane Kamara played on the wings, woth Oier Zarraga and Jesper Karlström in midfield. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and Sandi Lovric supported Keinan Davis in attack.
For once, Juve played like they knew the stakes early on, and came flying out of the blocks to press Udinese in their own half. González forced Camara into an early booking just three minutes in when he broke toward goal after winning a header against the Ivorian, and Conceição flew the resulting free kick a yard or so over the bar.
The game began to settle into the rhythm it would have the entire first half: Juve attacking and Udinese defending deep, daring them to get the ball through the defense. A quick restart from a throw led to Conceição laying the ball back to Locatelli, who hit a long-range shot that curled a little too late and missed the top corner by a whisker. Kolo Muani was led behind the defense by a fantastic dinked ball by Locatelli, but Okoye made himself big and got a piece of his strike to send it behind — a chance the Frenchman likely would’ve wanted back if he could do it over again.
It took until the 26th minute for Di Gregorio to touch a ball in play with his hands, easily picking off a cross and sending the ball back out on the attack. A minute later Ekkelenkamp tried to go from long distance but put his shot right into Di Gregorio’s gut, at which point Camara had to leave the field due to injury, replaced by Jordan Zemura.
Yildiz was clearly trying to make up for his disastrous mistake two weeks ago, trying to dribble through a gaggle of Udinese defenders all by himself but losing control at the vital moment and only watching the ball roll out for a goal kick. Not long after he forced his teammates to defend a free kick when he brought Ehizibue down trying to nip the ball away from him. Cambiaso then tried his luck, bursting forward on the counter and trying to surprise Okoye with a shot at the near post that the keeper could only parry, leaving his defense scrambling to clear the rebound before McKennie could pounce.
Juventus v Udinese - Serie A Photo by Chris Ricco/Getty Images
Two minutes before the break to go a short corner created an opportunity for a header by González, but he couldn’t get over the ball and popped it over the bar. The Argentine then came agonizingly close to opening the scoring with what might’ve been the last kick of stoppage time, but Okoye managed to bundle his shot off of the post, leaving him wondering just what he needed to do to get the ball over the line.
Udinese came out brighter in the second half, perhaps now convinced that a win could be on the cards aftrer the goalless first half, and they pushed Juve far more in the opening 10 minutes, with Karlström firing at Di Gregorio. Juve weren’t done, though, and Conceição was somehow denied by Okoye on a beautiful shot to the back post, with the keeper getting the very last tip of his glove onto the shot and redirecting it to skim off the outside of the far post.
It was the hour mark when Juve finally broke through. Conceição was dispossessed in the Udinese box but González took the ball off of Solet, then continued inside to receive a pass from Yildiz that sent him free and rifled the ball home and claim a precious lead.
Udinese tried to respond quickly, and Locatelli was down for a few moments when he blocked Davis’ shot with his face. Ekkelenkamp took a 25-yard pot shot that nearly dipped into the top corner, at which point it looked like Cambiaso’s recurring ankle problem cropped up yet again, and he left the field for Timothy Weah, while Dusan Vlahovic relieved Kolo Muani.
Vlahovic was denied the opportunity for a tap-in by Christiensen when he repelled a cross from Conceição, but there was no holding him back two minutes later, when Yildiz broke downfield on the counter late and dropped it off to Vlahovic on the left with a no-look pass, leaving the Serb to make a powerful finish at the far post and put the game to bed.
Juventus v Udinese - Serie A Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
Conceição broke loose on another counter two minutes later, but couldn’t get the ball to any teammates before getting dispossessed. Stoppage time came and went without much other event, and with three points secured, they rode off into the Venetian lagoon with their destiny still in their control.
LE PAGELLE
MICHELE DI GREGORIO - 7. Kept the defense tight and was quick to deal with any danger himself. Wasn’t seriously tested by the few shots Udinese did put on target.
ALBERTO COSTA - 6.5. Another strong showing from the once-forgotten Portuguese. Was a constant outlet on the right side for the attack and didn’t let anything dangerous down his flank.
RENATO VEIGA - 7. Made nine clearances along with a pair of interceptions as the back line defanged Udinese for the vast majority of the game.
LLOYD KELLY - 6.5. Led the team with 10 clearances, but was less assured in passing than his partner. Still, the fact that he wasn’t a complete disaster was a blessing from the Lord.
ANDREA CAMBIASO - 6. Notched a key pass and forced a save out of Okoye, but that ankle issue keeps flaring up. That’s becoming serious.
MANUEL LOCATELLI - 7.5. Pulled the strings in midfield wonderfully, making five key passes and barely missing the top corner with an early shot. Made 36 passes in the final third. Oh, and he blocked a shot with his face.
Juventus v Udinese - Serie A Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
WESTON McKENNIE - 6. Three key passes and a pair of interceptions, but his pass completion was sagging a little bit.
NICO GONZÁLEZ - 7. Great goal and even better pressure leading to it. Was unlucky not to get two after Okoye denied him just before the half. Had two key passes himself.
FRANCISCO CONCEIÇÃO - 6.5. Made three key passes and led the team with four tackles, but his final product in front of goal left a bit to be desired.
KENAN YILDIZ - 7. Made SIX key passes, including the assists on both goals. Would’ve been a little higher, but he was clearly trying to make up for his screw-up against Monza in the first half and started playing hero ball a little too much.
RANDAL KOLO MUANI - 5.5. Really should’ve scored on that breakaway in the first half, and wasn’t involved in any of the team’s most dangerous attacks.
SUBS
TIMOTHY WEAH - 6. Provided a key pass and defended well on the left flank after coming on for a hobbling Cambiaso.
DUSAN VLAHOIC - 6.5. Great finish on the goal in a big spot to help seal the game.
DOUGLAS LUIZ - NR. Did some good defensive work in 10 minutes on the field, recording a tackle and two interceptions.
VASILIJE ADZIC - NR. On to kill some time in stoppages, but came rather close to latching onto a pass to make it 3-0.
SAMUEL MBANGULA - NR. Another time-killing sub late on.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
Tudor gets a lot of credit here. Faced with the fact that he simply didn’t have the proper personnel to play his preferred style, he adapted in a way that we didn’t see from Thiago Motta before he was sacked. Moving back to Motta’s 4-2-3-1 while still keeping his own philosophy — getting the ball upfield as quickly as possible after winning it back and keeping the pressure on to do so — was a clinic in coaching.
Juventus v Udinese - Serie A Photo by Filippo Alfero - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
It helped that Yildiz was back — having your most talented player in the lineup tends to be a positive — but the new shape also felt like it gave the team juice. Add that to the verticality characteristic of Tudor’s game, and that could create some interesting options going into the season finale and the Club World Cup.
LOOKING AHEAD
Juve’s final match of the season comes in Venice against relegation-threatened Venezia. Win, and Juve are in the Champions League. Anything less, and Lazio and Roma have the opportunity to take the final spot from them. Roma will play Torino, Lazio face another team playing for their Serie A lives, Lecce.
After that, focus turns to the Club World Cup.