After a perfect September in which Juventus triumphed in all six games they played without conceding a single goal, October has proven to be a much more testing month. With losses to Atletico Madrid and Olympiacos, the Bianconeri also dropped points at Sassuolo, marking the first time they had failed to win in Serie A this term.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side did manage to record a crucial victory over title rivals Roma, however, allowing them to open up a gap atop the league standings. But that string of poor performances saw the team receive negative press, with the coach believing the international break had a negative effect on the cohesion of the team.
“We are trying to improve certain things,” Allegri told reporters at a press conference (h/t Football Italia). “But I was without many players for 15 days due to international duty.” While that may be true, it is also clear that injuries have had a detrimental impact on Juventus, with the absence of Andrea Barzagli and Martin Caceres perhaps the most notable.
Missing that duo, the defence has struggled to be at its best, a problem compounded by the slow recoveries of Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal. With his two star midfielders labouring rather than excelling, it is little surprise that results have not always gone the way of La Vecchia Signora.
A loss to Genoa on Wednesday removed their advantage over the Giallorossi, raising more questions about the side's form. Over the following pages is a position-by-position look at how the team performed in October, with statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com unless otherwise stated.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1tTsWLh
via IFTTT October 30, 2014 at 04:16AM
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