Personally, I’ve always been a fan of Jose Mourinho, who came to Turin looking for trouble and then left the Juventus stadium with that classic pouty face he’s known for.
Mourinho had this look on his face as he walked back into the tunnel after 95 minutes on Wednesday night.
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The Bianconeri overturned a difficult opening 45 minutes and beat Mourinho’s Benfica 2-0 thanks to a strong second-half performance from Juventus, including goals within 10 minutes from Kefren Thuram and Weston McKennie. The win mathematically ensured Juventus’ place in the play-offs, with hopes of finishing in the top eight remaining slim ahead of next week’s Champions League final with the Principality against Monaco.
Can they really?
I mean, there’s a lot to do next Wednesday night, but there’s still a chance. That’s because just one point separates Juventus from 15th place and Chelsea from 8th place. Still, the obvious obstacle is a simple fact: Thanks to the win over Benfica, six teams – including Atalanta and Inter Milan – are now between Juventus.
Are you saying there is still a chance? I have no idea! perhaps!
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But if Benfica can miss a penalty so badly and do it in such a hilarious way, then maybe we can assume that as long as Juventus take care of business in Monaco, good things will continue to happen.
Regardless, I think it’s safe to say that Juventus head coach Luciano Spalletti corrected some mistakes as his team went out in the second half. The first was the introduction of Francesco Conceição after the break, providing Juventus with a more consistent threat on the right wing. This allows McEnany to transition into a role that can go against Jonathan David much more than he could in a starring role on the outside. What do you know? Both Juventus goals produced some nice interplay between David, Thuram and McKennie to put Juventus ahead while Benfica seemed to be starting to get into gear.
However, just like that, two goals in less than 10 minutes changed everything.
Given Benfica’s European situation heading into Wednesday night’s game – which they need to win to control their destiny in next week’s UCL League One stage final against Real Madrid – it was always going to be a tight contest. We know Juventus’ performance at the weekend left them frustrated with the result and overall performance in Sardinia. They will have to do better when the Champions League returns, knowing full well that a win will put them in a strong position at the top of the table heading into the final day of the league stages.
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Against Benfica, Juventus put in a good – if not great – performance but got the job done. They have taken crucial three points in three consecutive games domestically and in Europe. We didn’t say these things before Spalletti arrived. What now? Well, things are better now than when the Champions League started. (Yes, even with the weekend loss to Cagliari.)
Now they just need to keep going and not have another turnover like we saw a few days ago.
Random Thoughts and Observations
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Penalty kick by Vangelis Pavlidis. What can be said about this?
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Oh, right! I think I know: Oh my God, Batman.
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If you can, go ahead and find a replay from the angle behind Pavlidis to see the look on Michelle DiGregorio’s face as it all happened. The man looked as shocked as all of us.
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You can sympathize with Pavlidis, but I did laugh about that missed penalty. That’s awesome.
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Can I say that again in all caps real quick? I would take that as a yes. Let’s get started: Renew Weston McKennie’s contract, do it now. Thank you for taking the time to address this important issue.
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During this game, Spalletti’s camera on the sidelines was working overtime. Please say more.
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Oh, that’s it! Enzo Barrenechea now plays for Benfica! Thank you everyone for the reminder.
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Jonathan David’s touches in the first 18 minutes: 3.
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DiGregorio’s touches in the first 18 minutes: 3.
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Lloyd Kelly made an important last-ditch effort in the Champions League to prevent the opposition from scoring and I don’t think I would be typing the same performance as when he first joined Juventus a year ago. But we’re here, and I’m certainly grateful that Lloyd is in much better shape.
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Oh, how important was that block after Di Gregorio’s great save? Well, let’s see how the game turns out. For much of the evening, Kelly’s interceptions prevented Benfica from scoring rather than chasing results – and then the rest of the second half awaited them. And Juventus did exactly that.
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It was a defensive switch from Manuel Locatelli. I mean, my words. Dude is everywhere.
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Locatelli blocked five shots! On his own! According to Sofascore, he had 13 defensive actions. This is just too much. He just gave it his all against Benfica.
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Locatelli also had 69 touches. Chef’s Kiss.
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When that guy was subbed off in the second half, he got a huge ovation and he deserved everything.
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I love them and I don’t care what anyone says!
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Remember how we talked about Thuram’s shooting needing to get better? Well, I think it’s safe to say that KT is either a secret reader of BWRAO or he just happens to have great timing. It’s either that or nothing else. These are the rules. Sorry, I can’t say anything more. Or maybe say hello to the new account labeled “KhephrenRulesMarcusDrools00017” or something similar.
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Thuram would not have scored if not for the effort David put in to keep his defender off the ball, allowing KT to make a run and do the rest. David has been improving in this area over the past few weeks, and overall it’s his combination with his teammates that creates more scoring chances.
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Gleason, you know I love you, but no matter what the score is, please don’t get punished again. knew? OK, OK, OK. Now, as usual, continue to do more good things and less bad things.
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The month began with Federico Chiesa being linked with Juventus as a potential deputy Yildiz, and now three weeks into January Filip Kostic could emerge as a deputy Yildiz option to replace Yildiz. Good times.
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This wasn’t Fabio Miretti’s best game. No, not even close.
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Andreas Schjelderup is just a funny name. You know this is true.
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I have to say that some mistakes by Juventus before and after they took the lead could really cost them. They were really lucky that Benfica didn’t become more dangerous with these chances.
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Like, how do we deal with these mistakes? They’re terrible.
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I liken it to my beloved Golden State Warriors and what many of us like to describe as their obsession with turnovers. No matter how good a guy like Stephen Curry is, teams can’t help themselves when they turn the ball over and sometimes do some really stupid things. I feel like Juventus, especially this version, are suffering from the same thing.
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Does this make Kenan Yildiz the Steph Curry of Juventus? That would be great for sure!
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Pierre Kalulu continues to play every minute of every game, and he still performs well.
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But seriously, extend McKennie’s contract. The guy continues to score goals in the Champions League and if he does the same thing outside of Turin next season, it will really say something.
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Maybe bourbon later. And the reasons won’t be the same as on weekends. Maybe selfishly I prefer this cause to that one.
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Now we focus on Naples. How do they fare in the Champions League this week? (Sorry, couldn’t resist. It was there waiting…I took it. You will do the same.)
