Juventus 2017/2018 Serie A Season Thread for March [R]

How many times did he lose possession or was he unable to make a good cross? He has to go.

 

I'm not sure we're losing much when Marchisio or Bentacur step in for Pjanic, aside from set pieces.

 

Like many of you are saying this was two different games with two different Juve's. Cuadrado and Costa's technical abilities on the ball are a huge upgrade over Licht and Matuidi's. After the subs, Juve were a bit more open on Milan's counterattacks, but the trade-off was that Juve were much better in keeping possession.

Khedira can be anonymous in certain matches, but he produced a huge assist vs Tottehnam and now a goal and another assist to stretch the lead back to four. He and Dybala were the MOTM.

It will be interesting to see who Juve miss more vs Real, Pjanic or Benatia.

 

Even then when was the last time he made something happen from a set piece?

 

Admit it. We have missed the Juan-erator.

 

We played 3 different formations in the first 60 minutes. Max finally got it right when he flooded the flanks and moved Sami to a free role with Bentancur covering.

 

Of the 2, Licht is the one that is clearly done. Asa is still an asset as cover off the bench and when he plays with Sandro or Costa in front of him he can be quite effective.

 

Costa might not produce all that much in the final third, but his ball carrying ability and ball retention are so important to this Juve. Whenever Juve seem to struggle to play the ball out of the back, his dribbling has been a key way to evade the press.

 

Who do you guys rate is better as far as performances between what James as done at Bayern and Costa at Juve?

 

Both were great acquisitions for different reasons. Juve needed a ball carrier after Pogba left for them to be less dependent on Dybala. Costa has been this guy. He receives the ball early in possession, completes a dribble against the press, and in doing so relieves the pressure.

James offers Bayern a #10 that they lacked. Both teams are better off as a result.

 

Costa completed 7 or 8 dribbles in the 2nd half alone vs Milan. More than any of the starters for both sides

He gave each pass that preceded the assists on the final two goals. His numbers aren't nearly as good as his impact mainly because Juve need him to possess the ball earlier in the build ups and transitions.