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Of the multiple things about Juventus\u2019 season that have driven fans crazy, perhaps the singular most infuriating problem has been the team\u2019s inability to put inferior teams away after taking an early lead.<\/p>\n
The Bianconeri have had an unfortunate reflex to drop back into their own half after gaining an advantage, instead of stepping on their opponents\u2019 throat and killing off the game early. Even in games where they do keep their foot on the gas, they haven\u2019t managed to get that finishing goal. That has allowed teams that really don\u2019t have any business getting a result against Juve to hang around until they can equalize. It\u2019s the biggest reason why Juve have dropped a whopping 17 points from winning positions this year.<\/p>\n
Cagliari was one such team. Back in October, Juve had broken through against the Isolani on a Dusan Vlahovic penalty 15 minutes into the match. Over the ensuing 75 minutes, they outshot Cagliari 16-8 and put six shots on target, but couldn\u2019t score again, allowing the visitors \u2014 who had not put a shot on target since the sixth minute \u2014 to stay around until Douglas Luiz gave away a boneheaded penalty with two minutes left in the game, allowing them to steal a 1-1 draw.<\/p>\n
Juve knew a win in the return in Sardinia would be huge for them. The rest of the top eight teams in Serie A had already played by that point, and only two of them \u2014 Atalanta and Inter \u2014 had won. Bringing three points back home to Turin would see them push past Lazio for sole possession of fourth place, put serious distance between themselves and the chasing pack behind them, and even pull them only eight points behind Inter for the league lead (barf).<\/p>\n
Vlahovic \u2014 making his first start of the calendar year due to the combination of injury and the existence of Randal Kolo Muani \u2014 again scored early, this time pouncing on an error in the back, and Juve should\u2019ve been two or even three goals to the good by halftime, only to be denied by a combination of poor finishing and excellent goalkeeping. As the second half wore on, Cagliari piled on the pressure, looking to again disappoint the Bianconeri.<\/p>\n
But this time, the Old Lady bent, but didn\u2019t break. Cagliari created some chaos in Juve\u2019s defensive area, but they didn\u2019t even manage a shot on target over the last 25 minutes of the game \u2014 indeed, despite holding nearly 60 percent of the possession in that time, Juve actually outshot them 4-3.<\/p>\n
When the final whistle sounded, the 1-0 victory \u2014 their second in a row by that score and fourth straight in the league overall \u2014 hauled Juve into the Champions League places, and put them in position to perhaps even make a move on the teams immediately above them in the coming weeks so as to consolidate their position in the top four.<\/p>\n