Juventus missed another opportunity to make up ground on the Serie A table, falling to Sassuolo on a rainy Wednesday night at the Mapei Stadium.
Nicola Sansone’s stunning free kick gave the hosts a 1-0 victory over the 10-man reigning champions.
Juventus struggle without Khedira and Marchisio
The three-man midfield of Paul Pogba, Stefano Sturaro and Mario Lemina simply did not work for Juventus. Pogba often tried to do too much and Sturaro and Lemina were unable to add any sort of creative spark. The Bianconeri are unbeaten with Sami Khedira in the side so far this season and look a much better team with the German’s experience and power; they also missed midfield leader Claudio Marchisio’s ability to build an attack and lead the side forward. Perhaps Max Allegri needed to experiment without those two in midfield and opt for a change in formation. Brazilian playmaker Hernanes has been largely under-utilised, being played out of position when he has started and sitting on the bench when he is not. With Juventus also leaving a lot to be desired in attack, a worthwhile change for today’s clash could have been starting a two-man midfield and throwing the extra body up top to play in behind the strikers, adding much needed creative spark and assistance to the struggling Mario Mandzukic. The added body in midfield was a waste, with neither of the three midfielders able to bring out their best.
Sassuolo enjoying a fine start
It has been quite the start to the season for Eusebio Di Francesco’s Sassuolo side, now up to fifth in the table. Even prior to Sansone’s goal the Neroverdi had looked the better team, frustrating Juventus and forcing them into some rash tackles, heavily influencing Giorgio Chiellini’s two yellow cards which saw him sent off in the first half. The Sassuolo defence put in a very solid performance against the Juventus attack and reserve goalkeeper Gianluca Pegolo looked fairly comfortable in goal. This win represents Sassuolo’s fifth of the season and they now sit on 18 points, with strugglers Udinese, Carpi and Genoa to come in their next three fixtures.
Juan Cuadrado is proving a little too wasteful
It is clear Juan Cuadrado has outstanding talent and someone who, on occasion, has been Juventus’ best player. However, we have also seen how wasteful the Colombian can be when it comes to that final pass. The 27-year-old old finds himself in dangerous positions, often getting past the opposition with relative ease, but he has left a lot to be desired when attempting to provide his attackers with a key pass. His shooting is quite poor and has only provided one assist in all competitions for Juventus this season. If Juventus are to start their climb up the table, Cuadrado will have to be one of the key protagonists, becoming more clinical and effective in the final third. He will have to bring out not only the best in himself, but also in fellow forwards Simone Zaza and Paulo Dybala, as well as allowing Mario Mandzukic to push his Serie A career in a much more positive direction.
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