After Monza: Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo
Yesterday at 07:00 AM
Juventus enter the holiday on a shaky win
The Good
The American Man
There is no doubt about the fact that something amazing has awoken in Weston McKennie. The Texan has faced so much since the first time he donned the black and white armor, and it seems that no matter what gets thrown at him, McKennie can handle it. With the main victims of the injury crisis being defenders, Thiago Motta had to realign the squad and find different places for the starting lineup to play, compensating for a weakened back line. While no stranger to playing back, this was only the second time, along with the recent match against Cagliari, that McKennie broke from his usual midfield position.
The result? An opening goal in the 14th minute, an aerial duel won, almost 90% passing accuracy, and 75 total touches. With all the bad that this season has brought in the form of injuries and lackluster performances from players who were expected to flourish, it's wonderful that this Juventus journeyman has continued to get better and better since August.
He's back…
It is always an interesting experience playing against your former club, as you have no idea what to expect. Especially if you were part of that club when Juventus was at one of its lowest points, when former Juventus player Angel Di Maria received a red card for elbowing your teammate in the chest, and when the victory over the Bianconeri was the first one in your return to Serie A after two decades. All this to say, it seems like none of that was on the mind of goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio as he took the pitch against his former home. During the lineup photo, he was quoted as saying, "To get what we want, we must go and get it, because nobody will just give it to us. Nobody! Let's go! The time is now!"
Though it may have been a great feeling for former teammate Samuele Birindelle to get one past the northern Italian giant, that didn't stop Di Gregorio from playing a great game after, facing a shockingly cohesive Monza counter attack and seventeen total shot attempts.
The streak continues … and breaks
Hey, Juventus won a league game!
This means two things about the current streak. The first is that the unbeaten run against domestic opposition continues on through the Christmas holiday. This momentum has been great, but coming off of four draws in Serie A, with two decisive domestic and European competition wins sprinkled in, was beginning to cause confusion. How can Juve beat Manchester City but draw against Venezia? How do you draw against one relegation side but then beat another by four goals in the Coppa Italia?
Which presents the second aspect of this streak, and this is that finally the club can add three more points to its tally in the Serie A table, breaking streak of draws and level on points with fifth-place Fiorentina. Hopefully this is the continued momentum that the boys need to go out there and level up their game against a group of teams ahead of them in the near future, such as Fiorentina, Atalanta, and Napoli.
The Bad
Sins of the father
For 11 years, Alessandro Birindelli donned bianconero, winning three titles with Juventus from 1997 until 2008. He was a mainstay of the team during a particularly problematic period. His son, Samuele, followed in his father's footsteps and became a footballer, beginning his career at Pisa, and eventually making his move to a club Serie A. Only he didn't go to Juventus like his father, rather Samuele made his debut for Monza in 2022.
Fast forward to 2024, the 25-year-old fullback scored his first goal with Monza during a lightning-fast counter that found the Juventus back line dumbfounded and Di Gregorio looking for answers. Now, football is filled with these kinds of stories, especially in Italy. The Thuram brothers play for each other's sworn rival while their father Lilian played for Juventus. Or how Timothy Weah plays for Juventus while his father George is an AC Milan legend (and also the former president of Liberia).
But aside from the slow defending that led to Birindelli's equalizer, it must have been very difficult for his father to congratulate him on his first Monza goal when it came against his former club. Or maybe it was a George Weah situation, where he was just happy his son performed well…
A missing person returns
It looks like Nicolo Fagioli is back, begging the question of where he's been. Since the October match against Parma, Fagioli has only seen an average of just under 20 minutes per match, excluding being benched against Udinese and Torino. It's been an interesting fall for Fagioli. He's registered a single assist across all competitions, a documentary was released about his gambling addiction and season-long ban, and now the rumor mill has been going and that he may play part in a transfer that will bring some supplemental help to the Juventus defense.
Now this is all pure speculation at this point. But it wouldn't be the first time that a Juventus player was the subject of a documentary only to leave shortly after. In 2023, "Back on Track" released, a film that documented Federico Chiesa's recovery from injury, only for the player to go to Liverpool in the summer of the same year. Again, any Fagioli transfer is speculation at this point, but with his lack of minutes and mediocre form, something is certainly going on.
Counter build-up
Back to match form, it seemed that the Juventus defense was much too lax in allowing for counterattackers from Monza in the latter stages of the first half and much of the second half Sunday night. While it is understandable that Juventus' defense has been decimated by injuries and players are all being forced to wear multiple hats to balance out the issue, a team like 20th-place Monza has no business being allowed to attempt 17 shots over the course of 90 minutes. There was clear frustration coming from Juventus across the board that came from allowing this relegation side way too much possession and control of the game, not to mention a 22nd minute equalizer.
The Ugly
Where is Douglas Luiz?
Thiago Motta stated in a pre-match press conference that he only wants "fully fit" players to be fielded against Monza, relegating Douglas Luiz from playing. However, something must be said for his large lapses in attendance. Tuttosport reported a few days ago that the Brazilian suffers from "intramuscular edema," which can cause frequent relapse and is difficult to overcome. That being said, his attendance at former club Aston Villa was nearly spotless, while his time at Juventus has been a long road of injury, disappearance, and what seems to be a frustration with his situation in Italy.
Turning the clock back to the summer, Luiz's transfer was one of the prime signings that showed promise to get the squad back to its winning ways, at the cost of €50 million, accounting for a few transfers mixed in. Currently, the Brazilian is on a personalized training regiment, so fans can remain hopeful about his return and ideally return to form. However, not all parties are content. Even in October, Forbes labelled the transfer as a flop.
Time will tell in this saga, but it is not looking good as of right now.
Short bench
In looking at the squad list for this match, one could find that there were only five available field players who were ready to jump in. All of which did at some point. Now, injuries are part of the game, but the short bench has been a serious problem for the club for a while now. To date, not a single match has been played with a full and uninjured squad, starting with Arkadiuz Milik at the beginning of the season. January can not come faster for the Old Lady so as to bolster the ranks and give some much needed rest to players who have been fielded match after match. In comparison to Monza, the red and white had eight available outfield players. It's safe to say, Juventus needs some backup.
Monza are ... 20th?
Despite the loss, Monza actually played well for a relegation side. But that is the whole point, Moza is a relegation side with only a single win to it's season. Its matches this season against the Seven Sisters of Italian football have been mixed, with draws Fiorentina, Inter Milan, and Roma, and losses to Juventus, Lazio, Atalanta, and AC Milan. Their only win came against fellow relegation-battler Hellas Verona.
But Monza are a tricky team. They know that their situation is dire, and have consistently played up against some of the giants of Italian football. Every season has a club like this, as one can recall now Serie B club Sassuolo taking down Inter, Juventus, AC Milan, Atalanta, and Roma in the since the start of the 2022-23 season, only to find themselves now at the top of the Serie B table.
Buono, brutto, o cattivo?
While there were some great moments of the match in McKennie and Gonzales goals, it was not an easy watch. What is it about this current Juventus team that makes relegation sides like Monza and Venezia look kind of good? There were moments of frustration, dead giveaways in possession, and slow defending that actually gave Silvio Burlusconi's experimental brainchild real chances at equalizing. From a viewership standpoint, this match was somewhat ugly, but on a needs-based level, this was a good match to keep Juventus chipping away at the table and give some much needed momentum as they enter the new year.
As Juventus moves forward, January will not be easy. Across all competitions, the big matches will be against AC Milan twice, Atalanta, Napoli, Club Bruges, and Benfica, not to mention a late December match against a shockingly good Fiorentina side. This will be the telling month for La Vecchia Signora, and let's just hope that the boys are up to a fight.
