He has showed more effort and on field production then Stuaro or Rincon. I really hope we keep Betancur and Kean on the team... no reason not to really. And whenever we loan a youth guy out, it seems like its hell to get them to come back if they have big potential.
Benatia and Rugani starting today. Paulo playing in the treq position right under Gonzalo. Benatia lets his mark slip behind him and put a shot off target while he ball watches again in the 8th minute. A mark slipped past Juan and Juan did not follow him, MDS slip up to took him and a diff player slipped in between him and Pjanic untouched. Claudio looks very rusty, whiffed at a clearence in our box.
Juan just played a wicked cross into the box, great decision making by MDS who has looked very good running the flank, recieving the ball and making smart quick passes to his mates. Juan is slowly getting settled and playing smart passes and dangerous balls into the final third. When he keeps it simple, he does well. Marios finishing has been poor today, it looks like hes struggling with this sod that they just layed over the turf and which is coming up all over field. Pjanic has been fantastic all game long, great passing, great decision making and getting open. Just put a dangerous shot 1st touch just off target. Gonzalos trapping is very poor today and he has seldom done much with any ball he recieved. Dybala has been very good, beat his man 3 diff times, playing good smart passes, his shooting has been a non factor however. He too like Pjanic has been all over the field and the two together are the heartbeat of the attack. Claudio is somewhat struggling today,ok passes but two very good and important tackles to displace the ball from the attacker. He looks gassed.
Fantastic build up on the goal, lofty cross to Sandro from Claudio who then plays a very deep ground pass in between two defenders hitting Mario on a great run who then beats the keeper in a 1v1.
Paulo is playing exceptionally well today, recieving very difficult balls in form of a line drive cross and a big air lofty cross and controls it upon first touch, then being able to dribble out of that right away to find space. He has prob beat his man half a dozen times just with dribbling.
Dybala and Pjanic sometimes hold on to the ball too long when they have open men next to them. They did this last season too. I wish Dybala had some speed too, he doesnt really break away like a Messi or Cuadrado (speedwise)
Licht should be sold. He just doesnt have it anymore, he takes dives like the one he just did more often then we would think and its embarrassing to have someone in this jersey do that.
Dam that made everyone look bad... even the front office for not grabbing Kolarov... or maybe especially when we have to see Asamoah at left back. This game has shut down ever since these mass subs came in.
Asamoah almost gift wraps a easy shot on goal with a cross that was either under hit severely and off target or butchered a simple pass... Giorgio saves a gaol from happening. Stuaro is awful... punches a goal into the stands... something we have seen from him before. No redeeming quality on the field today.
This team has completely broken down since the first string was replaced by second string, cant get anything going offensively, any decent attempts do not last long, too many people trying to do too much when they are not talented enough to do it. Very poor passing all over the place.
Can't make mass substitutions and expect a smooth transition. Relax, it is a ********ing friendly to get players into form.
5-4 on PKs. Who knew we had so many players who can take PKs? That 3rd string keeper looks decent on penalties.
So much garbage on this team we need to get rid of. Its unacceptable for us to have these players after how far we have come. There is NO reason why a team like Juve cannot offload their junk somehow. If we're holding off on selling these players cuz they we cant agree on 2-5M here there, then that is pretty stupid. Cut your losses and move on. With that said its exciting how many attacking options we have. Kean is a keeper and he should stay w us til xmas at least. Keita is unnecessary really. Regarding Sturaro or Lemina, if we cant sell them then i dont see why they cant be loaned at least. Send them to an Atalanta if they have room, theyll get some EL playing time too. But i also think Lemina should possibly be kept as a 3rd back up to Marchisio/Pjanic
It's understandable that Juve's play fell off after the subs. We can't expect so many new players to have the chemistry that the first team has. It will take time for the likes of Costa, Berna, Bentancur, and Kean to integrate themselves. It's interesting that Juve's attack is now the strength of the team.
That and to bring on 6-7 players in a short period of time into a match and expect the same ebb and flow is unreasonable.
I was speaking generally not these friendlies. They really dont mean much these guys are on vacation and have been on flights every 3 days. Its just players like sturaro asamoah rincon lichsteiner shouldn't be on our team anymore. We have stepped into a next level so our back ups must be able to step in and be adequate enough. We can cash in at least 25-30M for these guys
Ok, that was a fun game for the most part. Beautiful day, a pretty pro-Juve crowd and a Juve win makes the trip all the worth while. Some of my observations, Kolarov was a steal for Roma. Always been a fan of his and his performances proved that he still has it. Roma was the better team the opening 10-15 minutes, but then Juve took control until the mass substitutions. The pitch as a mess, turf coming up all over the place. Sturaro needs to go, plain and simple. He's just awful, not Juve worthy. Benatia had another rough outing and Lichtsteiner is not starting worthy. I truly hope we sign Cancelo and another CB. I like what I saw of Douglas Costa and despite a couple miscues, Cuadrado had a pretty good game too. Those pk's, everyone was like wtf is this lineup? But they didn't let us down.
That was one of the better games Juan has played in a while. I thought the Marchisio/ Pjanic pairing looked pretty decent.
International Friendly presented by Heineken - Tottenham Hotspur VS. Juventus » on ESPN at 12:30 PM EDT today! Finally an Italian team American TV!
We havent looked good once in the past 32 minutes... no exageration. There is seldom any linkup and the defense looks awful. The offense looks very sloppy and it looks like their first game all summer.
Sandro is othe only one whoo looks half way decent. Lichtsteiners lets Sissoko push him all the way back into the box and then Licht decides to run away from the ball and the man on it??? Khedira looks like a ghost... nothing new... Gonzalo looks a bit lazy as he has all summer and his touch continues it's trend in looking worse. Paulo is really struggling today Rugani looks very nervous, but he is slowly gradually getting comfortable. He does not look like a starter today but I appauld his not giving up. Giorgio looks out of his element and is minorly struggling. I suppose a good thing about this game is its a good wake up call.... for the team that we wont easily repeat success by a long shot... and that the front office should consider less band aid purchases and start buying stitches for the positions that are weaker.
Asamoah guilty for a goal vs spurs today... he has to go.... people actually think Darmian is not the superior option lol. I dont get it but I know it will be seen this year... all year long.
Darmian is a right back, Asamoah plays on the left. He should never be a lb, he's a mid and should remain there.