Juventus are currently losing themselves in sporting chaos. After the recent thrashing by Atalanta Bergamo, the barely recognizable Italian record champions were followed this time in Florence by a sporting 3-0 slap in the face.
The Serie A game at ACF Fiorentina had already started badly from Juve’s point of view. Before kick-off, Fiorentina fans had directed an unpleasant choreography towards the Turin camp, which has been hated for decades (“Juve Merda”), and had also insulted former players and former Stuttgart player Gonzalez, according to Italian sources.
On the pitch, things went badly for the Old Lady – and in two ways: DFB player Gosens, who had not been nominated for the upcoming Nations League duels with Italy, scored the 1-0 after a corner kick from close range (18th minute), with a little luck. Just a few moments later, he watched as teammate Mandragora escaped a leaky Juventus defense to coolly score from outside the box into the bottom right corner (20′ ).
Offensively ineffectual, defensively dreadful
The early stages of the game went just how AC coach Raffaele Palladino, who had secured a place in the Conference League quarter-finals during the week (3-1 win in the second leg against Panathinaikos Athens), would have liked. And not at all pleasing for his counterpart Thiago Motta, whose status as the secured coach of hope on the Juve bench for the next few years was increasingly coming under threat after the CL exit in the play-offs, the Coppa Italia embarrassment and the recent 4-0 Serie A debacle against Atalanta Bergamo.
After the 0-2, you couldn’t deny the will of his protégés, but their offensive skills against the now defensively-minded Florentines. Players like Koopmeiners, Gonzalez or striker Kolo Muani lacked creativity. There was basically no more than a decent approach in minute 29 via Kolo Muani and Koopmeiners in front of the veteran de Gea’s goal.
To make matters worse, the game continued to be as harmless offensively as it was bumbling defensively: After a move involving Gonzalez and McKennie (49th minute), the Bianconeri conceded the embarrassing 0-3 in the 53rd minute. The ball was played to Gudmundsson in the center, and he was allowed to march meters into the penalty area without any defense, take a shot and watch his precise low shot hit the bottom right corner. The poorest Juve player on the field? Keeper Di Gregorio, who actually conceded the 0-4 in a one-on-one with ex-Turin Kean a little later – but there was a narrow offside here (58′).
From a neutral point of view, it also seemed mysterious that coach Thiago Motta brought on notable players such as defensive stalwart Gatti (who only came on in minute 74), offensive artist Yildiz (only twice in the starting eleven in the last five Serie A games) and Vlahovic, who has often only been shipped to the bench as a substitute for weeks due to PSG loanee Kolo Muani, hardly any playing time. The latter two were completely left out until the end.
Incidentally, that end looked like this: the Viola continued to be defensively stable and held the 3-0 lead over time – also because nothing more came from the guests from Piedmont. And so the next debacle within a week was certain – against a club that was still in action in the Conference League on Thursday, which sold itself far better than Juventus.
Next up: On Sunday after the international break (March 30, 3 p.m.), Fiorentina, who are once again fighting hard for international places, will face Champions League and championship contenders Atalanta. Turin will play CFC Genoa before that (March 29, 6 p.m.).
