It was all so simple. Now, it’s anything but.
Juventus’ 2-0 loss to Fiorentina on Sunday afternoon was a choke-job, pure and simple. Facing a team that over the last month had recorded three draws — producing precisely one goal over those three games — and a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Roma, the Bianconeri simply spit the bit.
Sure, there were two disallowed goals — one of which was very iffy — and David De Gea made a couple of saves that were reminiscent of his prime, but in a must-win game against a team that had only recently lifted themselves firmly out of the relegation fight, they blew it. They looked the second-best team for a lot of the day, and despite taking 26 total shots, few of them were true quality chances.
Now, instead of going into the last game of the year controlling their destiny for a Champions League place, they have to win and get help from at least two out of the three games elsewhere to be able to get a place at Europe’s big table — and the money that comes with it.
How did the men on the field do on Sunday? Poorly, for the most part, but let’s take a closer look at each one.
MICHELE DI GREGORIO – 5. Absolutely had to save that first goal. It was in a little bit of an in-between zone between a kick save and a parry, but it’s a shot that a Juve-level keeper simply must save. I’m not 100 percent ready to give up on the guy—remember how Wojciech Szczesny pulled himself out of that horrific run in 2021 and went back to being his old self—but he’s had an awful season.
PIERRE KALULU – 6. Was wild with his passing overall (82.6 percent completion) but had three key passes and continually made himself available to help the attack on the right.
BREMER – 6. Had a big day in the back with two tackles, two interceptions, two blocked shots and four tackles. The goals scored were very much not his fault. The one blemish was the booking he got at the end of the first half, which put him over the suspension threshold and ended his season ahead of Sunday’s must-win Derby.
LLOYD KELLY – 5.5. It was an odd day for him. Completed less than three quarters of his passes, and wasn’t as solid as he’s looked for much of the year. Luciano Spalletti seemed upset with him when he came off.
ANDREA CAMBIASO – 5.5. Had a key pass but wasn’t as good as he’d been in his last two games. Wasn’t horrific, but didn’t add much value either.
MANUEL LOCATELLI – 5.5. Led the team with three tackles and was tied for second in shots, but only completed 81.9 percent of his passes and couldn’t get the team into a rhythm.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS – 4.5. Had one key pass but didn’t threaten the goal himself at all, and it was him that Cher Ndour toasted on his run to the box for Fiorentina’s opening goal.
FRANCISCO CONCEIÇÃO – 6. He worked his tail off, making four key passes and getting denied once by De Gea. But for all his effort, it still felt like there could’ve been more production off his moves.
WESTON McKENNIE – 6. Worked hard as usual and the stat sheet looked good, but he too was missing the finishing touch. Had three key passes, a pair of interceptions, and the goal he had called back was seriously questionable.
KENAN YILDIZ – 5.5. Had good numbers but still doesn’t look himself as he carries that knee injury. He had three key passes and forced De Gea into a good save, but that extra pizzazz was missing.
DUSAN VLAHOVIC – 5. Only put one of his four shots on target, and he simply should’ve been more aware of his positioning on his disallowed goal. If you want a stat that shows just how disappointing his transfer has ultimately been, this was his ninth game against Fiorentina since he arrived at Juve and he still hasn’t scored against his old club.
SUBS
JÉRÉMIE BOGA – 6. Added some creativity and pace to the attack, and was unfortunate not to score when De Gea stopped him point blank early on in the second half. Had twice as many dribbles (4) as anyone in the starting lineup.
EDON ZHEGROVA – 5.5. Got into some decent positions but couldn’t make them count, which has been the story of his season.
KHÉPHREN THURAM – 5. Only completed 56.3 percent of his passes and didn’t really bring any of his best qualities to the midfield.
FEDERICO GATTI – NR. A little surprising to see him on the field, but pushing him up into the box to act as a second big target wasn’t the worst idea in the world given how desperate Juve’s situation was becoming. He even had a key pass.
FABIO MIRETTI – NR. Kinda felt like Spalletti waved the white flag when he brought Miretti on for Yildiz, and the youngster blasted a ball into orbit in stoppage time.
MANAGER ANALYSIS
It’s hard to gauge how much of what happened on Sunday was the responsibility of Luciano Spalletti. He played about as strong a lineup as he could, given the fact that Thuram wasn’t fit to start. He was quicker to act with his substitutions than in previous games, and made changes that made sense. This wasn’t a tactical problem.
This disaster of a game was entirely mental. There isn’t a synonym of “choked” that I haven’t already used. It’s a bit mystifying as to why this is the case though. If there’s one thing Spalletti has done this season that has seemed different from coaches past, it’s been to bring a renewed mentality that has seen the Bianconeri respond to setbacks and situations far better than in the past. But today, the team simply wasn’t up to it. It’s a surprise on a number of levels, from the way the team has responded to challenges previously under Spalletti to the fact that the majority of this team had plenty of experience when it came to the race for the top four.
Spalletti needs to figure out out how to get his charges to push this game aside and take care of business in next week’s Derby, because if they can’t win on Sunday, nothing else will matter. He’s gotten them to respond to adversity before this season, and he absolutely has to do that over the next week.
LOOKING AHEAD
Sunday’s Derby della Mole is the final game of the year. Juventus must win that to have any chance at the top four. In order for them to get back in, they’re going to need help on multiple fronts.
The “easiest” scenario to get Juve into the top four is for Como to drop points along with one or both of Roma or AC Milan. This has entirely to do with tiebreaker scenarios. Juve own the head-to-head advantage over Roma. The head to head against Milan was a dead heat after two goalless draws, so it goes to goal difference, where Juve has a significant advantage.
The possibility exists for all four of the teams to end up even on 71 points. This would require Roma and Milan do draw along with Juve and Como winning. At that point the tiebreaker would turn into a four-way mini-league based on the teams’ combined head to head record. This is where Juve will have a problem, as they gained only six points in those six games, dropping themselves toward the back of the pack.
Indeed, the only scenario Juve can make the top four if Como take maximum points is if both Milan and Roma lose, which would allow both Juve and Como to leapfrog them on points.
A lot has to go right. Hope for the best — but prepare for the worst.
