Within the span of five days, two opposing managers in the visitors\u2019 dugout had the same kind of expression on their face as the final minutes ticked off the clock at the Allianz Stadium. First it was Jose Mourinho as Juve handed his Benfica a crushing blow for their Champions League hopes. And now, with his squad already decimated by injuries, it was our old buddy Antonio Conte putting two fingers up to his face to rub his eyes after Juventus\u2019 thundered home a third and final goal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Both games, both wins, were signs of just how much this Juventus squad have changed under the man who \u2014 especially considering the opponent this weekend \u2014 has started to put his stamp on this Juve team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Luciano Spalletti\u2019s Juventus beat Conte and Napoli 3-0 on Sunday at the Allianz Stadium. It was a stark contrast from what we saw from these two teams 49 days earlier in Naples, with Napoli taking advantage of Spalletti\u2019s own experimentation to get three points in their first matchup against their former manager. But on Sunday, with Conte\u2019s Napoli still dealing with the same kind of injury crunch that they were last month, Spalletti won it with the kind of football we actually expect from him \u2014 there was pressing, there was quick recovery of the ball, there were quality chances being created, all of it. This was a Spalletti win if there ever was one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
And it came against Napoli.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Say what you want about their injury situation, but this is still Juventus beating Napoli. This is Juventus getting within a point of Napoli in the Serie A table as they now wait to see what happens between Roma and AC Milan in the Italian capital. (And makes you shake your head about the dropped points to Cagliari last weekend, too.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
They were beatable back in December because of who they didn\u2019t have on the field, but Juventus couldn\u2019t get it done then. This time around, though, Juve did the exact opposite of that. They got the lead against Napoli thanks to Jonathan David\u2019s third goal in his last four Serie A games, they then hunkered down and took Napoli\u2019s biggest punch of the night and only true extended period of pressure, and then they put them away with Kenan Yildiz scoring his career-best eighth goal of the league season. The cherry on top came from Filip Kostic of all people, with a left-footed strike we haven\u2019t seen from him all that often ever since he first wore bianconero under Max Allegri.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It was a statement kind of win regardless of what shape Napoli\u2019s currently in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
This is a different Juventus than the one we saw in southern Italy nearly two months ago. Spalletti has put his stamp on this squad, they\u2019ve grown in confidence since the loss to Napoli and they\u2019re playing an overall much-improved brand of football compared to the first few weeks of Spalletti\u2019s tenure as Juve manager.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean Sunday night\u2019s win was perfect by any means. There are still some lingering issues that hamper this squad \u2014 cough cough Andrea Cambiaso giving the ball away non-stop cough cough \u2014 and will likely do so because that\u2019s just what this roster is. But, even with those faults, Spalletti has gotten this team to play so much better on the whole and just as a collective unit compared to how they were looking in the final weeks of Igor Tudor\u2019s ill-fated tenure at the start of the season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I just can\u2019t get past the fact that they withstood Napoli\u2019s only real extended push forward to try and even the game, defended things well, barely gave Michele Di Gregorio a thing to do and then delivered a knockout blow with about 15 minutes to go. That feels like a pretty good sign that this team, while still very much a flawed one, is really on an upward kind of trajectory under their manager now that he\u2019s about to finish his third month in charge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
And just as a topper to all of this: With how Inter Milan are currently playing right now, did this Juventus win just put one of the final nails in the coffin when it comes to Napoli\u2019s Scudetto hopes? Seems like it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I\u2019d call all of that a pretty good Sunday for Juventus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n- That was \u2026 how do I phrase this properly so people get it easily \u2026 incredibly enjoyable. Yeah, that\u2019s it.<\/span><\/li>\n
- ANTONIO CONTE SALTA CON NOI!!!!!!!<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n
- They say good things come in three, right? Well here\u2019s three good things all within the last four days \u2026<\/span><\/li>\n
- Juventus Women beat Napoli (albeit with a different owner) in the Coppa Italia Femminile on Thursday.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Juventus\u2019 primavera squad, in the beautiful black third kit, beat Napoli on Sunday afternoon.<\/span><\/li>\n
- And now Juventus\u2019 senior squad beat Bald Tony and Napoli at the Allianz. That\u2019s a good weekend.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Winning a corner within the first 15 seconds? I think that\u2019s coming out on the front foot, folks. (If only Juventus could do something on corner kicks these days \u2026)<\/span><\/li>\n
- I wholeheartedly support Khephren Thuram playing like he did against Napoli for the rest of this season and his Juventus career. Whether it was because of his dad and brother both being in the stands or his overall form just getting better the last couple of weeks, Thuram was excellent. That was the Thuram of last season that had a whole lot of us excited about his future at the club. More of that, please, KT.<\/span><\/li>\n
- I mean, Thuram won EIGHT tackles. EIGHT TACKLES! That is insane for a midfielder.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Weston McKennie\u2019s heat map is a thing of beauty. Just look at this\u2026<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n- Somebody who also had an impressive kind of heat map with all the work on and off the ball he was doing? That would be a certain Canadian with the last name of David. The man was an absolute workhorse against Napoli. The goal was very well done and a sign of how he was able to use his strength to hold off his man, but overall you can just see his game starting to grow. Same with his confidence, too. He\u2019s said it, Spalletti has said it and now we\u2019re saying it here. He\u2019s not on great form just yet, but David is certainly digging himself out of that early-season hole he found himself in.<\/span><\/li>\n
- This had to be one of the quietest games that Scott McTominay has had ever since joining Napoli and I feel like the work that Thuram and especially Manuel Locatelli did to mark him out of the game is a huge reason for that. McTominay has been on an absolute heater of late, and yet he barely made a peep against Juventus.<\/span><\/li>\n
- That Locatelli assist on the David opener was pretty great, too. Don\u2019t forget that part.<\/span><\/li>\n
- That Fabio Miretti assist after just coming onto the field on Yildiz\u2019s goal was pretty nice, too.<\/span><\/li>\n
- We would like to thank Juan Jesus for that mistake that led to Yildiz\u2019s goal. Thank you, Mr. Jesus.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Gleison Bremer good.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Bremer might also need a rest. He\u2019s started every game since coming back from injury.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Pierre Kalulu good.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Lloyd Kelly is also good! What a big step forward he\u2019s made since joining Juventus a year ago now.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Praising Kelly pretty much every post-game thread I write over the last few weeks? Did not expect that to be the case, but here we are \u2014 and I\u2019m quite happy to be proven wrong. Keep doing you, Lloyd.<\/span><\/li>\n
- That pass that Kelly played to Cambiaso only for Cambiaso to then turn it over on his second touch late in the game, that is just Cambiaso\u2019s form in a nutshell right now.<\/span><\/li>\n
- At this point, Juan Cabal has to be a better option than whatever it is Cambiaso is as a player these days.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Di Gregorio had to make one save. It was pretty early in the game. Other than that, dude did not have a whole lot to do \u2014 and that\u2019s what we like no matter who\u2019s in goal for Juventus.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Kostic scored as many goals as he attempted crosses. If only that was always the case, right?<\/span><\/li>\n
- I say that in jest, but Kostic popping up on the right after Spalletti brought him on was at first more of a defensive move more than anything else. But then it turned into a move that resulted in him scoring a really nice goal thanks to his extreme left-footedness. That works just fine in my book.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Have I mentioned that this win was fun? Yeah, pretty damn fun, man.<\/span><\/li>\n
- The vibes are good right now, folks. The vibes are really, really good.<\/span><\/li>\n
- We drink the good bourbon tonight, my friends. This kind of win calls for that.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
- \n
- That was \u2026 how do I phrase this properly so people get it easily \u2026 incredibly enjoyable. Yeah, that\u2019s it.<\/span><\/li>\n
- ANTONIO CONTE SALTA CON NOI!!!!!!!<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n
- They say good things come in three, right? Well here\u2019s three good things all within the last four days \u2026<\/span><\/li>\n
- Juventus Women beat Napoli (albeit with a different owner) in the Coppa Italia Femminile on Thursday.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Juventus\u2019 primavera squad, in the beautiful black third kit, beat Napoli on Sunday afternoon.<\/span><\/li>\n
- And now Juventus\u2019 senior squad beat Bald Tony and Napoli at the Allianz. That\u2019s a good weekend.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Winning a corner within the first 15 seconds? I think that\u2019s coming out on the front foot, folks. (If only Juventus could do something on corner kicks these days \u2026)<\/span><\/li>\n
- I wholeheartedly support Khephren Thuram playing like he did against Napoli for the rest of this season and his Juventus career. Whether it was because of his dad and brother both being in the stands or his overall form just getting better the last couple of weeks, Thuram was excellent. That was the Thuram of last season that had a whole lot of us excited about his future at the club. More of that, please, KT.<\/span><\/li>\n
- I mean, Thuram won EIGHT tackles. EIGHT TACKLES! That is insane for a midfielder.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Weston McKennie\u2019s heat map is a thing of beauty. Just look at this\u2026<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
\n- \n
- Somebody who also had an impressive kind of heat map with all the work on and off the ball he was doing? That would be a certain Canadian with the last name of David. The man was an absolute workhorse against Napoli. The goal was very well done and a sign of how he was able to use his strength to hold off his man, but overall you can just see his game starting to grow. Same with his confidence, too. He\u2019s said it, Spalletti has said it and now we\u2019re saying it here. He\u2019s not on great form just yet, but David is certainly digging himself out of that early-season hole he found himself in.<\/span><\/li>\n
- This had to be one of the quietest games that Scott McTominay has had ever since joining Napoli and I feel like the work that Thuram and especially Manuel Locatelli did to mark him out of the game is a huge reason for that. McTominay has been on an absolute heater of late, and yet he barely made a peep against Juventus.<\/span><\/li>\n
- That Locatelli assist on the David opener was pretty great, too. Don\u2019t forget that part.<\/span><\/li>\n
- That Fabio Miretti assist after just coming onto the field on Yildiz\u2019s goal was pretty nice, too.<\/span><\/li>\n
- We would like to thank Juan Jesus for that mistake that led to Yildiz\u2019s goal. Thank you, Mr. Jesus.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Gleison Bremer good.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Bremer might also need a rest. He\u2019s started every game since coming back from injury.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Pierre Kalulu good.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Lloyd Kelly is also good! What a big step forward he\u2019s made since joining Juventus a year ago now.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Praising Kelly pretty much every post-game thread I write over the last few weeks? Did not expect that to be the case, but here we are \u2014 and I\u2019m quite happy to be proven wrong. Keep doing you, Lloyd.<\/span><\/li>\n
- That pass that Kelly played to Cambiaso only for Cambiaso to then turn it over on his second touch late in the game, that is just Cambiaso\u2019s form in a nutshell right now.<\/span><\/li>\n
- At this point, Juan Cabal has to be a better option than whatever it is Cambiaso is as a player these days.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Di Gregorio had to make one save. It was pretty early in the game. Other than that, dude did not have a whole lot to do \u2014 and that\u2019s what we like no matter who\u2019s in goal for Juventus.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Kostic scored as many goals as he attempted crosses. If only that was always the case, right?<\/span><\/li>\n
- I say that in jest, but Kostic popping up on the right after Spalletti brought him on was at first more of a defensive move more than anything else. But then it turned into a move that resulted in him scoring a really nice goal thanks to his extreme left-footedness. That works just fine in my book.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Have I mentioned that this win was fun? Yeah, pretty damn fun, man.<\/span><\/li>\n
- The vibes are good right now, folks. The vibes are really, really good.<\/span><\/li>\n
- We drink the good bourbon tonight, my friends. This kind of win calls for that.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
- This had to be one of the quietest games that Scott McTominay has had ever since joining Napoli and I feel like the work that Thuram and especially Manuel Locatelli did to mark him out of the game is a huge reason for that. McTominay has been on an absolute heater of late, and yet he barely made a peep against Juventus.<\/span><\/li>\n
- ANTONIO CONTE SALTA CON NOI!!!!!!!<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n