They got ahead through Dybala’s wonderful opening goal, got a second via Leonardo Bonucci’s penalty kick and took it from there.īut there’s no denying that Juve weren’t able to keep the quality start going once Dybala left injured. They didn’t need to pull a rabbit out of their hat and make a late-game comeback like they did in the final 20 minutes against Spezia. I guess the good part in all of this is that Juventus didn’t actually fall behind like they did against Spezia a few days earlier. But so many other things about this win did not scream out “FUN! FUN! FUN!” In fact, it was just about the opposite - especially when it’s a 34-year-old Antonio Candreva giving your defense issues for more than one or two occasions in the second half as Sampdoria were trying to make some sort of comeback. (UPDATE: Allegri has essentially ruled out Dybala and Morata for Wednesday’s game against Chelsea during his post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia.) Oh, and here’s the cherry on top that Wednesday’s win over Spezia didn’t have: Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata both went off injured against Sampdoria - which could very well mean Moise Kean is the only healthy striker Juventus has when defending European champion Chelsea comes to town for the biggest game of the Champions League group stage thus far. Juventus’ defensive struggles are only getting worse.Īgainst inferior competition, it’s been Juve closing the game in a nervy fashion rather than the club that is very much a mid- or lower-table side.Īnd, maybe most concerning of them all, no matter how many goals that Juve scores, no lead actually feels safe because this team is struggling mightily to close out games no matter what Max Allegri does to try and ensure his team gets three points these days. The problem is when you try to see those two first Serie A wins this season, there’s a very concern trend that’s only continuing to roll on. With Sunday afternoon’s 3-2 victory over Sampdoria, Juventus officially has its first two wins in Serie A, its first win on its home field and, after weeks of waiting, an actual winning streak no matter how small the size of it is.

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