FC Juventus’ Adrien Rabiot 2nd R celebrates his goal with his teammates during the Italian Serie A … [+] football match between FC Juventus and Roma in Turin, Italy, Dec. 30, 2023. (Photo by Federico Tardito/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Juventus bested Jose Mourinho’s Roma in what followers of Serie A will acknowledge was a very familiar result: 1-0 to Juve.
Adrien Rabiot’s smartly-taken goal just one minute into the start of the second half was more than enough for Max Allegri’s side to earn all three points. When Juve tend to take the lead in games these days, there’s usually one outcome: no further goals and a win for the Bianconeri.
The Frenchman’s goal, a product of brilliant play from Filip Kostic, Dusan Vlahovic and Rabiot in the lead up, was only the 15th goal Juve have scored in Serie A in the last three months. If one looked at Juve’s results in that time period, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was binary code. It was their fifth 1-0 win of the season, and they’ve only scored two goals in a match four times since October.
Allegri is seemingly trying to better Milan’s infamous record of winning the Scudetto with the fewest tally of goals possible, with Fabio Capello’s brilliant side of 1993/94 winning the title with only 36 goals scored in 34 games. Now halfway through the season, Juve sit second behind Inter with a total of 27 goals scored.
If they are to win their first title in four years, they’ll likely do it beating that frugal Milanese record of 30 years ago, but not by much. At the current rate, Juve would end the season on 54 goals, but perhaps the most important statistic is the paltry amount of goals his defence is conceding: only 11 in 18 games. Allegri has restored solidity to defence that looked lost in the post-Giorgio Chiellini wilderness.
Bremer, Federico Gatti and Danilo have formed a tight unit at the back, with Gatti having a breakthrough season. Gatti is reminiscent of Chiellini insofar as being capable of scoring the odd critical goal and cares little about the more elegant side of the game. meanwhile Bremer recently signed a new contract with The Old Lady until 2028 and the club produced a video showing the Brazilian taking players ‘out of his pocket’ such as Napoli hitman Victor Osimhen.
Allegri’s Juve aren’t pretty on the eye, yet the win against Roma was one of the best performances of the season. Yet it was hard to decipher whether that was due to Roma’s rather turgid display or Juve forcing the away side to perform badly. Given Mourinho’s record against the top sides in Serie A since arriving at Roma, one could make the argument that it was more the former than the latter.
On a purely positive note, it was Vlahovic’s best performance for Juve in well over a year. The Serb’s hold-up play was exceptional and was unlucky not to score. Vlahovic has been constantly linked with a move away from Turin as his form and reputation plummeted in 2023, but the No.9 ended the year on a high note, dragging Roma’s defenders ragged with his physicality and movement. Moreover, his role in Rabiot’s winner — a neat back heel around the corner — was the kind of moment Juve expected more of when they signed him nearly two years from Fiorentina.
Rabiot, much maligned throughout his time in Italy, has really grown into a silent leader and is Allegri’s first name on the team sheet. The 28-year-old’s contract is expiring at the end of the season, and the club will no doubt be hoping to sit down with his mother-agent Veronique and hammer out a new deal. The player was coy when asked about his future in the aftermath of the game, saying he would ‘have to think’ about the issue.
Kenan Yildiz, the youngster shown enormous faith by Allegri, has also been a real bright spot in the last few weeks of the year. The Turkish forward was handed a second consecutive start after his goal against Frosinone and produced another encouraging display, showing nice touches and the ability to ghost in between the lines, something the club hasn’t seen since Paulo Dybala departed 18 months ago. The trio of Vlahovic, Yildiz and Federico Chiesa should be the foundation of a promising attacking three for Allegri to work with in 2024, with Arkadiusz Milik and Moise Kean still at the club, Allegri has an abundance of options in attack.
If it hasn’t already been clear by now, the Scudetto fight is solely coming down to a scrap between Juve and Inter. Inter by far have the better squad, but Juve have no European football to worry about, and so the fight is evenly poised going into 2024. It’s sure to be gripping and, come the end of it, you wouldn’t bet against Juve lifting yet another league title.
After the horrors of the opening six months of 2023, the second half has been positive for Juve, and 2024 could prove to be even better.
