Juventus again fail to hold the lead in an ornery Derby della Mole

Today at 03:45 AM

The two No. 10s cancelled each other out in the first half, and Juve were unable to get back ahead in the second.

Yeah, another one.

Another frustrating draw, when a single moment from an opponent that was otherwise failing to produce a credible threat to the Juventus goal proved the difference, while the Bianconeri failed to add to their tally.

It's been that way for a few weeks now, and Saturday night's 1-1 result in the return leg of the Derby della Mole extended the maddening trend.

The lopsided nature of the local rivalry has often sapped the Derby games of their intensity, but that was decidedly not the case at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino on this night. Tensions ran high from early on. The players on both the field and the bench squared up to each other within the first 90 seconds, and in the second half both managers were given red cards after another confrontation on the benches.

In between, both teams' No. 10 scored incredible goals; Kenan Yildiz put Juve up after only eight minutes and Nikola Vlasic tied it just before halftime. After Torino carried their momentum into the early stages of the second half, Juve gradually gained control and dominated the latter stages of the second half. Over the last half-hour, Juve held almost 65 percent of possession and outshot Torino 9-1, forcing Vanja Milinkovic-Savic into five saves.

But they couldn't push the ball past the Serbian international, and had to settle yet again for a single point in a game where three should've been the result.

Thiago Motta was in pickle over team selection. Manuel Locatelli was suspended for yellow card accumulation, and two typical starters, Dusan Vlahovic and Francisco Conceição, were on the trainer's table. Combined with the ongoing injury problems of Arkadiusz Milik, Motta was once again without a center-forward, and would have to make do with another short bench. The usual 4-2-3-1 stayed in place, with Michele Di Gregorio starting in goal. Nicolò Savona, Federico Gatti, Pierre Kalulu, and Weston McKennie set up in front of him. Douglas Luiz made his first start since October to replace Locatelli in the midfield pivot along with Khephren Thuram. Yildiz, Teun Koopmeiners, and Samuel Mbangula supported Nico González in the striker spot.

Torino manager Paolo Vanoli countered with a 4-4-2. VMS was screened by the back four of Mërgim Vojvoda, Guillermo Maripán, Saúl Coco, and Borna Sosa. Valentino Lazaro, Samuele Ricci, Karol Linetty, and Yann Karamoh stretched across midfield, while Vlasic partnered with Ché Adams up front.

Tempers flared before a minute and a half was on the clock when Torino players prevented McKennie from retrieving a ball for a throw-in, leading to a scuffle that took a few minutes to fully die down, although referee Michael Fabbri didn't see anything worthy of discipline at the time.

It wasn't long at all before the visitors quieted down the Torino crowd.

It started with the simplest of passes from Savona to Yildiz on the right side. The Turkish teen cut inside of Sosa, then made Linetty look silly. as he continued to drift toward the middle of the field. Satisfied with what was not in front of him, he unleashed a powerful shot that skipped quickly past Milinkovic-Savic and into the bottom near corner.

Unfortunately, Juve's tendency to drop off after taking the lead reared its ugly head again. Linetty had the chance to provide a rapid response in the 15th minute when he latched on to an overhit corner at the far post, but blasted over from point blank range.

Two incidents could have extended Juve's lead during this phase of the match, but in one way or another the officiating prevented it. In the 19th minute, a cross from Yildiz appeared to hit Sosa's hand as he blocked it behind, but VAR Francesco Meraviglia made no move to initiate a review. Less than sixty seconds later, a slick pass from Mbangula put González in to slip it through the keeper's legs, but the flag came up. The semi-automated offside system later showed him over the line by, at most, two inches of his torso, another casualty of an offside rule that is completely unsuited to the modern day.

By the half-hour mark, Juve started gaining a measure of equilibrium in the game. The threatened again when Gatti bombed forward with the ball, then kept going after he'd fed Yildiz down the right side, finding a large pocket of space near the penalty spot. Yildiz found him with a cross, but he pushed the ball just wide of the far post.

Mbangula continued to look dangerous and joined another good break with Koopmeiners, but when the Dutchman put him through Ricci was able to scramble across and nudge the ball away with a desperate slide.

The lack of a clinical touch bit Juventus in the ass again just as the first half ticked into stoppage time. Another simple pass started the move, this time from Karamoh to Vlasic. The Croatian settled the ball and took advantage of Thuram overpursuing the pass to rip the ball through the one piece of space that it could squeeze through to slam off the inside of the post and into the net to tie the score.

The Granata came flying out of the gates in the second half, forcing a blocked shot within seconds and three corners within the first five minutes, the final of which saw a roundhouse kick by Maripán that went right at Di Gregorio, for what turned out to be his final save of the evening.

Juve were still under pressure in the 56th minute when Karamoh looked to have stolen in behind the defense. Savona made an exquisite tackle from behind him, cleanly winning the ball before making contact with the winger. Torino's bench exploded in protest, demanding a foul and red card for denial of a goalscoring opportunity. Their continued objections annoyed Motta, who began arguing with Vanoli. That sparked another confrontation between players on the bench. When things calmed down, Fabbri showed both managers a red card, leaving the technical area to be manned by the assistants.

As the hour mark went by, Juve had begun to turn the momentum again. Soon, Milinkovic-Savic and his defense had a siege on their hands. Yildiz missed another stunner by about a foot over the bar, then Koopmeiners hit a laser right at the keeper, who managed an awkward parry.

The best chance of the rest of the game came in the 76th minute when Mbangula drove down the left wing and found an unmarked González 10 yards from the goal. The Argentine attempted a volley back across the grain but scuffed it, giving Milinkovic-Savic just enough time to fly across his goalmouth and parry it away. If González had gotten solid contact, it would've been a goal for sure.

There was still more for the big keeper to do, and he had to parry another cannon shot from Tim Weah on his first touch of the game, then was thankful that Yildiz couldn't control the rebound and his defense blocked the follow-ups by Luiz and then Yildiz. Andrea Cambiaso tried to play a give and go with González but didn't get any power on his shot, leading to an easy save. Slightly more difficult was a save made deep in stoppage time when Thuram volleyed a lofted free kick at the far post, only to see VMS get across to catch it and avoid the decade-long tradition of Juventus scoring late Derby winners.

LE PAGELLE

MICHELE DI GREGORIO - 6. Seen a lot of people calling him out over the goal, and yes it was near post, but it was an unstoppable shot. It was Thuram who deserves the real blame for that goal. He made the only other save he had to make, and controlled his area well.

NICOLÒ SAVONA - 6.5. Savona still needs some seasoning, but damn is he good with those last-ditch tackles. He had one against Theo Hernandez a week ago and an equally good one against Karamoh that caused the Torino bench to go bonkers (which, somehow, the stat services didn't actually count as a tackle). He also made four clearances and, of course, assisted on the goal.

FEDERICO GATTI - 6. Shared the lead in clearances with eight (!!) and was a useful outlet on the attack as well, completing 98.4 percent of his passes and very nearly scoring a second that would've made it a very different game.

PIERRE KALULU - 6.5. Two tackles, eight clearances, and a blocked shot for the biggest transfer steal of the year. He also passed the ball well, completing 94.1 percent and even notched a key pass for good measure.

WESTON McKENNIE - 6. He's adapting to this role by the game (although it'll still be great when they can get him out of there). He made four clearances and was generally equal to Lazaro on his side. He also contributed a key pass and was one of only three players to complete a dribble.

DOUGLAS LUIZ - 6. What do you know? The bar wasn't exactly high, but this was his best game as a Juventus player by an order of magnitude. Completed 93.8 percent of his passes, including a team-leading three key passes. Contributed a tackle and a blocked shot on defense, and most importantly didn't make any key mistakes.

KHEPHREN THURAM - 5.5. Shared the team lead in tackles (3) but bears the responsibility for Torino's goal, over-pursuing the pass and giving Vlasic the lane—however small—to take his shot.

KENAN YILDIZ - 7.5. Every time he touches the ball he creates danger. His goal was a thing of beauty, and he also chipped in a pair of key passes and even had a share of the lead in tackles. We're watching the birth of a superstar.

TEUN KOOPMEINERS - 5. Had that one hard shot that would've been a goal had it been a foot to either side, but was missing in buildup play. The trequartista position is still a bit of a problem for him.

SAMUEL MBANGULA - 6.5. Made some really dangerous passes, and if the offside rule had been brought into the modern era before now he would've had a really fine assist. He had a bit of a rough patch after his hot start, but he's showing again that he still belongs on the first team.

NICO GONZLÁLEZ - 5.5. Interpreted an unfamiliar role rather well, but gets a major ding for scuffing that shot with 15 minutes to go — if he'd hit it clean this was probably a win.

SUBS

ANDREA CAMBIASO - 5.5. Had a key pass but didn't provide a consistent threat out wide and couldn't finish that lovely give and go with González. Still getting his feet after his injury.

TIM WEAH - NR. Very nearly scored with his first touch of the game, but didn't produce any danger besides.

MANAGER ANALYSIS

This was another game that was strange from the off. The absence of Vlahovic has always made things difficult for this team, but the last time he was out also coincided with González being injured. He's by far the best suited player to deputize at the striker position, and he had a decent enough game save for that bad scuff in the second half. Frankly, he played the No. 9 role better than Vlahovic has over his recent cold stretch.

But Motta still hasn't managed to beat the tendency to drop back after taking a lead out of this team. His comments to the media after matches make it clear he knows that it needs to change, but they still haven't been able to get themselves out of that cycle. The good news is they did manage to pull themselves together somewhat by the end of the first half—ironically only to let up the tying goal after they'd done so.

Still, there were some questions about the way this match was handled. Had Koopmeiners really played well enough to completely ignore the presence of Nicolò Fagioli or even Vasilije Adzic on the bench? The withdrawal of Savona and Mbangula, both of whom were playing well, is another puzzler, although allowance can be made for fatigue in both cases.

This team is in a weird limbo right now. There are flashes of progress, like the goals against Fiorentina and Milan that came off defense-splitting passes. Then there are the moments — and they're usually singular moments — when someone on the team switches off just enough to allow an opponent to take advantage of a singular opportunity. Saturday, it was Vlasic, who had one of only two shots on target for Torino. Against Fiorentina, the only two shots they made that hit the target were their goals.

The hope is that a fuller squad — with some winter additions — will help things even out as the season goes on. Right now, Juve are getting some breaks on a macro level — Lazio and Milan both drew against teams in the lower third of the table this week, so the race for the top four is basically the status quo. But with a daunting month coming up, Motta needs to iron things out so the team can get some positive results.

LOOKING AHEAD

Juve are about to begin a brutal two-week stretch, starting with a midweek league game against Atalanta in Bergamo. Then they welcome AC Milan to the Allianz, before hitting the road for a Champions League game against Club Brugge and the league return against league leaders Napoli (barf).