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First off, what can\u2019t Weston McKennie do? <\/p>\n
Surely if Michele Di Gregorio and Mattia Perin both had the flu, the first to don the gloves would be the Texan, with the blessing of Juventus hype man and third-choice keeper Carlo Pinsoglio, that is. <\/p>\n
All this to say, the McKennie saga at Juventus has been one of those rare sports moments where a player has kept a \u201cwatch me\u201d mentality through a loan spell, transfer rumors, negative press, and still consistently performed week over week. This season alone he\u2019s graced the wings, the back, and midfield, and of course donned the second striker armor in Juventus\u2019 November outing against AC Milan. <\/p>\n
Realistically, while McKennie didn\u2019t score or assist in the 2-0 win over AC Milan on Saturday night and fans didn\u2019t get to see the Harry Potter celebration, there were very few times that the American wasn\u2019t all over the ball in the defensive half or orchestrating a run from the same area. He\u2019s become a central cog in the Juventus machine, playing joint conductor in a symphony of black and white. <\/p>\n
This Juventus team barely let Milan get an inch on them in their attacking runs, but it wasn\u2019t just their ability to keep the press \u2014 it was accuracy and possession. Long has it been said that possession does not win games outright, but it certainly helped the Bianconeri run circles around the Rossoneri. The match ended with a 60% possession and 91% passing accuracy for Juventus, registering 15 total shots with six on target. Milan always seemed like they were on a three-second tape delay during this match, and it came as a benefit to Juventus in arguably one of their best domestic matches this season. Of all matches, that still belongs to the one against Manchester City.<\/p>\n
So much of modern football these days is a waiting game for Erling Haaland-like archetypes who plant themselves in the box and take advantage of a key moment. In fact, one complaint that\u2019s gained a bit of popularity on the Twittersphere is that modern football is too much poaching and not enough shot creativity. That being said, it was nice to see some shot attempts by Teun Koopmeiners and Khephren Thuram from outside the Milan box. Did they hit their mark? No. But it is good to see that Juventus had many different attack strategies in their arsenal against Milan. <\/p>\n
Of course, this takes nothing away from Samuel Mbangula\u2019s deflection-beneficiary goal or Timothy Weah\u2019s sprint into the box goal that turned Mike Maignan\u2019s legs to jelly \u2014 because those were elite displays.<\/p>\n
What can be said about Weah? First off, his speed in attack is incredible and his ball possession is truly something to marvel at. But he has been such a breath of fresh air this season, and his 64th-minute goal truly characterized why he is Juventus material, and part of a long lineage of footballing royalty. A Thuram pass turned into a footrace between the American and Fikayo Tomori, and after successfully juking the Englishman, a narrow line between defender and goal was created, with only Maignan in the way. But for all his height and prowess, the Milan keeper was barely even able to lift his legs and attempt to save the ball as it careened past a semi-outstretched left arm. <\/p>\n
Rumor has it that RB Leipzig has made an attempt for Weah, but both the player and Juventus won\u2019t even consider it. Which is great, considering what a season he is currently having. <\/p>\n
This was another conductor-like powerhouse performance for Locatelli. But at this point, that should be no surprise, as he remains one of the most consistent players on the Juventus roster \u2014 and boy does he love the team he plays for. But in this case, the numbers speak for themselves when it comes to the maestro nuovo. Locatelli kept just shy of a 90% passing accuracy, won three ariels, kept an 80% accuracy in long balls, and registered an interception, a clearance, and blocked a shot. Of course, both of his tackles can\u2019t be forgotten, either.<\/p>\n
Something has changed for the better in Locatelli over the past year or so. He\u2019s become the perfect image of on-pitch consistency, a leader on the field and in the locker room, and has matured out of the silly mistakes that he\u2019s made in seasons past. As for the future, fans and club alike can hopefully expect more and more powerhouse performances from the 27-year-old who now wears the captain\u2019s armband. <\/p>\n
The introduction of Mbangula came as a bit of a shock to begin the season. The young Belgian was a name not too many were familiar with before this fall, but he showed up and showed out in his first senior-level match against Como, scoring Juventus\u2019 first goal of the season. Fast forward to the Milan match, Mbangula saw another league goal in a deflection-aided shot with an assist from Nico Gonzalez. But that\u2019s not all \u2014he accounted for three of Juve\u2019s 15 total shots, with two of them on target, all while keeping the fourth-highest passing accuracy of the match at 97.5%, behind Federico Gatti and late substitutions Dusan Vlahovic and Nicolo Fagioli.<\/p>\n
To date, Mbangula has participated in 20 matches across all competitions, something he has undoubtedly earned at the fresh age of 21.<\/p>\n
After the Rossoneri\u2019s salvo of shots in the 27th minute Saturday night, Gonzalez broke away and barreled down the pitch toward goal in a \u201cthis is it\u201d type of moment that had fans thinking it was just about time for the score to be blown wide open. Unfortunately, the Argentinian was besieged by two Milan defenders, and his shot turned into a sluggish bouncing ball that found the hands of Maignan. It was unfortunate, as Gonzalez had been forced to pick up a lot of slack while Vlahovic was nursing a muscle fatigue injury that saw the Argentinian as point man against both Milan and Torino a few weeks ago. He deserved his moment, and hopefully that will come soon. <\/p>\n
In a blink-and-you-miss-it moment of the early second half, a pass found its way into McKennie\u2019s arm and handball was called \u2026 only it never touched his arm. In a comical footnote of the match, the American\u2019s handball turned out to be nothing other than a little bounce off the knee that the referee must have had to squint to see, eventually ruling it as handball. McKennie, as expressive as ever, seemed wildly and understandably confused by the ruling, but in the grand scheme of the match it had no impact, rather was a funny moment that even the Paramount+ commentary team joked about. <\/p>\n
It seemed that every time the camera panned to new Milan manager Sergio Conceicao, he was absolutely furious, even at one point taking his jacket off and throwing it to the side in a huff after it seemed the match was lost. But as fans of calcio, a jacket throw is child\u2019s play compared to some managerial tirades of years gone by. Perhaps the Portuguese manager was confused as to how a team that they beat only a few weeks ago in the Supercoppa was able to turn the Rossoneri defense inside out and run circles around them? <\/p>\n
Either way, those Milan winter jackets go for just short of $200, so pick it up before you go home, Serg. <\/p>\n
After the match, CBS Sports interviewed Alessandro Del Piero, who noted that this was the best match of the domestic season for Juventus. What more can be said? There is no point in arguing with the king of Italy. <\/p>\n
Overall, he was right. The stars seemed to completely align for the Bianconeri, and even with players injured and not at full fitness, there didn\u2019t seem like a moment come the second half where Juventus was not in calm control of the match flow. Young players got goals, journeymen orchestrated, and Juventus got a win that hopefully will reignite momentum for the season\u2019s long second half. <\/p>\n
Next stop Napoli, so let\u2019s keep a good thing going. This match was an easy buono, now get some rest Bianconeri, there are big fish to fry. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n