Here we are in the last two months of the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The title race completely passed us by months ago, and unfortunately that has become standard procedure in the last few years. After the tremendous run of results in January had us thinking of a comfortable spot in the top four in Serie A, the crushing reality of February and, to some extent March, made us realize that today\u2019s Juventus team is barely\/merely good enough to hang around the outskirts of the fourth, fifth and sixth positions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Last month had a little bit of (almost) everything \u2014 dramatic comebacks, last-minute goals, crushing victories, penalty misses, and corto muso<\/em> performances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We started the month with a blockbuster 3-3 draw away at Roma. After a tight first half, the hosts took the lead just before the break when Brazilian wingback Wesley cut inside from the edge of the box and curled a lovely right-footed shot into the top corner and just past Mattia Perin\u2019s fingertips. We equalized immediately after the break when Concei\u00e7\u00e3o scored with an incredible half volley that almost ripped the net in half.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A 10-minute spell then turned the game firmly into Roma\u2019s favor. Evan Ndicka barged his way past Andrea Cambiaso and volleyed home from Lorenzo Pellegrini\u2019s corner kick. Then, the reborn Donyell Malen received an incredible pass from Manu Kone, beat the offside trap, and chipped the ball over Perin who was too slow to come off his line. (And I thought sweeper-keepers were overrated \u2026) Jeremie Boga brought us back into the game when he scored with a tremendous volley after Edon Zhegrova\u2019s deflected cross fell to him. His goal was the beginning of a great run of games he had in March.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The game had a dramatic conclusion in the 93rd minute thanks to our beloved bricklayer Federico Gatti. Once again, Zhegrova was the catalyst as his cross from the free kick created havoc in the box. Gatti pounced (ha!) on the loose ball and smashed in the half volley to deny Roma the victory in a brilliant game of football.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We returned to winning ways with a big 4-0 home win against Pisa. Remarkably, all goals came in the second half and, curiously, after Spalletti switched to a 3-4-3 with Boga\/Yildiz as a false 9. Cambiaso scored the first goal when he headed in from a great chipped cross from Yildiz. The second came quickly afterwards: Manuel Locatelli\u2019s pinpoint shot hit the post and the rebound fell to Khephren Thuram who tapped the ball into an open goal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The goals kept coming. Yildiz collected a pass from Concei\u00e7\u00e3o, slipped past the defender, and blasted the ball into goal. Boga put the cherry on top with a goal in stoppage time after he received a perfect through ball from Locatelli, rounded the goalkeeper, and scored in the empty net: 4-0!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Boga continued his great month by scoring the game\u2019s only goal in a tight 1-0 victory over Udinese. Kelly played a fantastic long ball to Yildiz, who charged into the box and crossed low to Boga. The Ivorian held his run excellently and, as a result, was in the perfect position for the easy tap-in. The Bianconeri<\/em> controlled the rest of the game and probably should have scored more to put the game to bed, but in fairness Udinese posed such little offensive threat that the victory was never in doubt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The final game of the month against Sassuolo was the one that, in my eyes, ended our chances of qualifying for next season\u2019s Champions League. Remarkably, goalkeeper Perin created the first goal when his excellent long outlet pass released Concei\u00e7\u00e3o on the counterattack. He dribbled his way into the box and squared the ball for Yildiz, who scored with a low, accurate shot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As has happened time and time again this season, Juventus conceded from its first (and only!<\/strong>) shot on target. Sassuolo played a nice bit of one-touch passing on the edge of the box and the ball came to Berardi on the right wing. The winger squared the ball for Andrea Pinamonti who, after bullying Gleison Bremer of the ball in the buildup to the goal, ghosted past the Brazilian defender to poke the ball into goal from Berardi\u2019s low cross. The Bianconeri<\/em> won a very soft penalty after Jonathan David\u2019s cross hit a defender\u2019s arm, but goalkeeper Arijanet Muric caught Locatelli\u2019s incredibly weak penalty kick. It ended 1-1 and we fell further behind in the race for Top 4.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Juventus Women opened the month with a solid 2-0 victory over Fiorentina in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal. Chiara Beccari scored in the ninth minute thanks to a nice assist from Ana Capeta. The Portuguese forward then capped a match-winning performance with a goal in the 51st minute after latching onto Viola Calligaris\u2019s great through ball and scoring with a shot at the near post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It wasn\u2019t a great month of results in the league, though.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n AC Milan beat the Bianconere<\/em> 1-0 thanks to Thea Kyvag\u2019s goal early in the second half, but the deciding moment came just a few minutes earlier in stoppage time of the first half. Kay-Lee de Sanders fouled Capeta in the box but goalkeeper Sandra Estevez saved Emma Stolen Godo\u2019s penalty, resulting in a disappointing 1-0 loss. We followed that loss with a frustrating goalless draw against bottom-of-the-table Genoa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thankfully, Juve ended the month on a high note with a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal. Capeta ended a fantastic month with two goals in this game. The first was a wonderful curled shot from the edge of the box that went in off the post and the second a header from a corner kick. Iris Omarsdottir scored from a rebound after a corner kick resulted in Katla Tryggvadottir hitting the post. Juventus cruised to a 2-1 victory (4-1 on aggregate) over Fiorentina and will meet Roma (who else?) in the final!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n During the winter transfer window, the big story was Juventus\u2019s attempt to get another striker, likely on a short-term deal. Dusan Vlahovic has since only recently returned from injury and still hasn\u2019t extended his contract that expires in a few months, Arek Milik has risen from the dead after missing nearly two seasons<\/strong> due to injury, and Lo\u00efs Openda and Jonathan David haven\u2019t worked out the way we thought they would.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Spalletti has tinkered accordingly to find a solution while his strikers find their The false 9 experiment began catastrophically when the attack was terrible in the first half of the first game against Napoli. But the experiment has caught fire<\/a> recently as a combination of Yildiz and, more importantly, Boga have done quite well as false 9s. The Ivorian, in particular, seems to be a good fit for the position as he is faster and more physically dominant than the Turkish forward and more comfortable with his back to goal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nFalling into the Europa League?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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purpose in life<\/s> form. He has tried two solutions: playing Weston McKennie as a striker and playing a false nine. Remarkably, McKennie was actually quite good in that position \u2014 is it still a surprise that McKennie plays well everywhere on the pitch? \u2014 but we need him more urgently in other areas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n