Sunday night’s match against the often-time color-matching Udinese was critical for [Juventus](https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com). A loss or draw would see a vicious Roma side take control of the fourth Champions League spot, nudging Juventus into Europa League qualification. All with Lazio chomping at the heels of this Bianconeri squad that has been to hell and back over the course of thirty-seven matches.
As astounding as the result was, the question of if Juventus still has fight left in them has been the central focus of the season. It’s only been a few short months since the disasters against Atalanta and Fiorentina, as well as the squad’s crash out against Empoli in the Coppa Italia.
There have been many cases of clubs across this sport understanding the importance of a single match, and this last home game at the Allianz was testament of Juventus saying “we’re still here, we’re still fighting.” It was aggressive, it was fast, it was dominant. But most importantly, Juventus displayed to the league that their passion had never left, it just needed motivation to be reignited. It’s an extreme rarity in football to be able to watch a match and barely be able to pick out wildly poor individual performances, but isn’t Juventus known for doing the unthinkable?
### West-On-The-Move
On paper, Weston McKennie had a holistically good game. He contributed three key passes, won four aerial duels, intercepted the ball twice, and had a single moment where he channeled his inner Manuel Locatelli and completed an accurate long ball. But viewers of the match may have missed much of this, and not because there was anything wrong with the match’s stream, rather because McKennie moved so rapidly fast that he became a blur. Every loose ball, every attempt from corners, and every time possession shifted and Juventus were on their back heels, the American man with a plan came barreling down the pitch on a mission.
After 80 minutes, McKennie was replaced by Douglas Luiz as a result of a pretty rough looking tackle. The American looked tired, and took a walk down the tunnel, most likely to have somebody from the medical staff check him out.
This wasn’t the COVID-era wand waving or Manchester City-crushing McKennie type of match that fans have seen before — it was something completely different. A feverishly quick and dedicated performance that proves that his rightful and deserved place is in Turin, donning the black and white armor week after week.
### Double Starboy
Kenan Yildiz wasted no time coming back into form after his two-match ban, recording both of the assists in the win over Udinese. While his attacking game from the wings was not the issue display of bobbing and weaving brilliance that results in a goal for the Turkish wunderkind, Yildiz returned to the Allianz as the ultimate team player. His first assist came from a fracas in the box that initially saw Francisco Conceicao grounded, and thinking on his feet the Turk charged into the right corner of the box and scooped up the loose ball, instantaneously passing it to Nico Gonzalez, who fired it away and secured a 1-0 lead.
His second assist was reminiscent of those old, and admittedly rare, Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic linkups. At least while they were both at Juventus. With at least two thirds of the pitch in front of him, Yildiz received the ball courtesy of Vlahovic after an unsuccessful Udinese attack. The starboy sprinted down the pitch as Vlahovic positioned himself on Yildiz’s left side, and with a short right-footed pass to the Serbian, Vlahovic was able to blast it into the back of the net.
Yildiz went on to receive Panini’s player of the match, though he stated almost immediately after that “this trophy is not important, what is important is winning our matches.” One could commend the humility and team mentality Yildiz displayed, though the folks at Panini may be less thrilled than most.
### The Great Goalzalez
Gonzalez’s time at Juventus has been hit or miss, but a switch seems to have been turned on in the final handful of matches this season. After an unsuccessful attempt on goal that looked all but certain, the Paramount+ feed panned to the Argentinian, showing just how frustrated he looked. But that didn’t matter for the Fiorentina loanee, as he found his goal in the 61st minute thanks to Yildiz’s assist.
What can be said about Gonzalez is that he seems to be growing more and more comfortable at his new club, where his obligation to buy will kick in this summer and see him in Turin until 2029.
### Dusan-Thing Cool
Finally, the 25-year-old Serbian striker broke his Serie A scoring drought that had been hanging over him since February’s clash against Cagliari. However, this lack of goals came not only from poor performance but also a reduced playing time thanks to Randal Kolo-Muani’s loan from Paris Saint-Germain. After the Frenchman arrived in Turin, he exploded onto the scene in great form, giving options to then-manager Thiago Motta and now to Igor Tudor. Since February, Vlahhovic has seen plenty of the bench, a small injury that precluded him from two matches, and oftentimes came in as a late substitute during less-than-stellar Bianconeri performances.
There is a lot of talk about if Juventus will have a place for Vlahovic next season, and much of that talk points to “no.” Even under three Juventus managers since his January 2022 transfer, the Serbian’s performance has declined year over year, scoring less goals in the 2024-25 season than last year, even with more opportunity to do so with European competition.
That said, he did get his goal against Udinese, putting a much-needed nail in the coffin in the match.
**The Bad**
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### Deja Vu, All Over Again
Pundits and people can talk about the last three games of the season as being the most important to Champions League qualification, but the real killer was the loss to Parma, which laid the groundwork for the very tricky place Juventus finds themselves in. Currently, they command a one-point lead in fourth place over Roma and two points over Lazio back in sixth. With one match to go, the season can end a few ways. An outright win against Venezia sees the Bianconeri in the Champions League, a draw would see them there but only if Roma draws or loses against Torino.
It’s not a question of if the Bianconeri can find a place in Europe, but rather which competition. Will they play against Liverpool and Barcelona in the Champions League? Or will they find a home in the Europa League, where only two years ago they made a run to the semifinals, losing out to Sevilla? Needless to say, the past three weeks have been like Bill Murray’s 1993 film, “Groundhog Day.”
**The Ugly**
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### Turin → Detroit
Many cities in the world have connections, oftentimes named sister cities. Manhattan has Athens and London, and Paris has Rome. But the shocking twist of recent news revealed that Turin’s sister city is Detroit. The crazy part is, that declaration came in 1998. So not only is the new Jeep and Visit Detroit sponsorship deal on the new kits a marketing move, it’s also based in fact.
According to FootyHeadlines, these are actually separate sponsors, where both will be worn domestically, but only Jeep will be featured in European competition.
That said, the new kits have a very “superhero” feel to them, similar to the yellow zebra striped kits of 2023-24. But the real killer is the front sponsor itself, which is long and hyper-stylized, giving more of a lower-division feel to the overall aesthetic.
**Buono, brutto, o cattivo?**
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If only that match could have been replicated for eight to ten of the draws this season, then maybe Juventus fans could be celebrating another league trophy in their cabinet. But, taking what we can from this win, it was simply buono. Everyone did their part, and even Lloyd Kelly had 10 clearances. It makes it better that it came at a time of triple suspensions of important midfielders and defenders.
Now, beating Udinese is historically not something to write home about, but it did secure a bit more confidence in Champions League qualification, and of course the almighty cash injection that the club could receive.