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  • Juventus: The Old Guard defends, the Young Guns score

    Juventus: The Old Guard defends, the Young Guns score

    • Gianluca Minchiotti (@Gianlumin), translated by Edo Dalmonte (@edodalmonte)
    The least you could say about Juventus is that they are going through a purple patch. Barring Josip Ilicic's penalty, they haven't conceded in league play since early November, and have won eight of their last ten games in all competitions. (Read James Horncastle's editorial on their incredible turnaround HERE).

    You could also argue that whilst the club's Old Guard defends, its new acquisitions are quite literally keeping the attack afloat. In all competitions, a staggering 80% of the team's goals have been contributed by players who arrived this summer, a shocker even with the departures of Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo. After all, Alvaro Morata, Paul Pogba and Claudio Marchisio are still here. 

    Out of 35 goals scored, 10 have come from Paulo Dybala (read James Horncastle's piece on him here), 7 from the reborn Mario Mandzukic, 5 from Simone Zaza, and one each for Mario Lemina and Sami Khedira. 

    Max Allegri's return to a three-man defence have helped the defence progress in leaps and bounds. The old BBC has returned to its old form, Bonucci, Chiellini and Barzagli helping Juventus only allow opponents a measly five shots on goal in the club's last five games on Italian soil. Palermo never had one, as did Torino, who were mauled 4-0 in Coppa Italia action last night. 

    The BBC trio fits Antonio Conte's old formation perfectly, but it has also been helped by the midfield (Claudio Marchisio first and foremost) and the defensively-minded Patrice Evra. 



     

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