You could blame Juventus’ defeat at the weekend on refereeing incompetence, and no matter what Luciano Spalletti’s side did, no matter how hard they tried to equalize, despite being on the wrong end of the scoreboard, their efforts made us proud.
Less than 72 hours later, what happened in Türkiye was beyond comparison.
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Not only did Juventus lose to Galatasaray in the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie on Tuesday night. The Bianconeri collapsed in the second half in Istanbul despite getting two goals from a player who had not scored since the much-loved Club World Cup. Galatasaray, who Spalletti knows will be a tough task even if his side play well, showed great enthusiasm against Juventus both before and after Juan Caval was sent off to reduce the team to 10 men. What happened was something no one could have foreseen even in the wildest predictions…
With a 5-2 defeat, any hopes of reaching the last 16 of UCL were completely gone.
The second leg will likely be next Wednesday night, but even playing a game feels like a daunting task. Do you even want to surpass a Galatasaray team that scores goals just for fun these days? It almost felt like it was reserved for a Juventus team that was far more talented than this one.
No matter how you slice it, this is bad. On a night when they just needed to avoid complete disaster to have a chance of advancing to the next stage of the knockout rounds next week, they failed utterly.
Not only did they concede five (or more) goals in European competition for the first time in nearly 70 years, but they did it in a way we rarely see Juventus break out. You know, that’s saying something because it’s hard to forget some of the utter disasters this club has been through over the last few years.
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Let’s look back at Juventus’ last away game in the Champions League knockout rounds.
At least they got away with it in the first leg compared to last season, right?
Well, I said that jokingly – after results and performances like this I know joking is far from what anyone who supports Juventus really wants want to Listen – so let’s get back on track. Let me ask a simple question: What happened? Why did Juventus go from taking a 2-1 lead, thanks to two goals from Thon Kupmeiner (!!!) and withstanding an early gala storm that Spalletti warned about in his pre-match press conference, to a team that conceded four goals in the second half and had virtually no chance of advancing?
The simple point is that playing against 10 people for the second consecutive game is much more difficult than when you’re at full strength. Hey, breaking news, right? But even before Cabal was sent off with his second yellow card after substitute Andrea Cambiaso came on to prevent him from being sent off, things were seriously shaky long before that. Juventus was still 11 vs. 11 against Galatasaray in the second half, with few answers, and Bremer-sized holes in Juventus’ defense made things even more delicate.
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But once the red and yellow snowball started rolling at Ram Park, Juventus couldn’t slow down. Then Cabal, a player who has struggled in every aspect of the game this season, was sent off and Galatasaray realized it was time to kick things up a notch and take complete control of the game, drawing a draw and sending Juventus into the final 90 minutes of European football this season in Turin next Wednesday.
No player takes responsibility for this. Kabal certainly played his part, and an important one at that. But the team that led at halftime fell apart almost everywhere. In one of the most hostile atmospheres this team will encounter all season, they gave an absolutely raucous crowd plenty of reason to celebrate and laugh (or 10) at Juventus’ expense.
When the play-off draw was first announced, we pretty much knew it was going to be a tough game. But no one in their wildest dreams could have imagined what exactly happened when Juventus returned to Ram Park for the first time since that infamous game in 2013, which involved a horrific pitch and lots of snow.
This time, though, Juventus’ horrific performance in Turkey will be remembered solely for the final scoreline. I don’t want to remember any of it, but it will be hard to forget.
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Random Thoughts and Observations
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Lost to Atalanta 0-3 in the Italian Cup.
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A 2-2 draw with Lazio nearly sealed victory.
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Despite the very obvious warning, a 3-2 loss to Inter Milan in the Derby d’Italia.
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Now they lost 5-2 to Galatasaray, giving themselves almost no chance of entering the last 16 of the Champions League.
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A total of 13 goals have been conceded in the past four games. Guys, this is not good at all.
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Juan, a Colombian, came on as a substitute in the Champions League before picking up two yellow cards and being sent off in the second half. This isn’t the first time. Hopefully this is the last time for a long time.
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The complete irony of Cabal being sent off is that he was brought in for exactly what Spalletti was trying to avoid. Cambiasso was exposed defensively (again), received a yellow card and was sent off as a result. What Cabal had to avoid was the one thing Spalletti didn’t want to see happen to Cambiaso… and he was sent off within 22 minutes of coming on. Sometimes you can’t make this stuff up.
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Juventus ended up with 1.13 xG. As you can imagine, almost all of this happened in the first half.
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In the second half alone, Galatasaray scored 2.12 times. And there were only nine shots. Amazing.
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Four of Gallas’ nine second-half shots were considered huge changes. Looks bad.
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I’m not going to tear down Michele Di Gregorio like some people do (and are) for allowing some of these goals, but man, it’s a tough situation to be in when this defense feels like it’s living on the edge of a cliff and the goalie doesn’t always look like that safety net. He made some really good saves, but it still felt like there were times where he needed to make more of an effort.
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Having said that, DiGregorio’s defense was a mess before and after Bremer left the game. Just a mess and not much to say.
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Do we understand now why Federico Gatti isn’t playing much these days? While you could argue that it’s possible for him to recover from his physical issues, he’s not that great – not at all! — when he came back and started playing a few weeks ago.
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Manuel Locatelli put in an outstanding performance against Inter Milan at the weekend. But the same cannot be said for Gala.
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To be honest, Kupmenas scored two goals. Two very good goals. They will be completely forgotten for what happened after Juventus took a 2-1 lead.
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I mean, Kupminer’s second goal was like Atlanta Kupminer’s. Weston McKennie’s layoff was also great. The finale is the cherry on top. We’ve basically been waiting for this product from Koopmeiners for 18 months.
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Did any of the five players Spalletti bring on as substitutes inspired great confidence? Because I didn’t really feel it.
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Juan Cabal is another Cristiano Giuntoli gift that keeps on giving. Thank you, thank you.
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It’s time to add another game to the list, you just want more from Chico Conceicao on the right wing. He’s not having a great time on the outside these days.
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I dare ask, but I’m going to do it anyway: How many Juventus players made it into the starting XI Galatasaray unveiled on Tuesday? It’s not a lot – but it’s an important part of the problem.
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Kenan Yildiz’s first game for Juventus in Türkiye will forever be associated with this result. This is so sad for such a fine young man. He doesn’t deserve this.
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However, Juventus deserved everything Gallas gave them in this one. Even though it’s a Tuesday and still early, it’s nice to have a glass of bourbon. No matter how much or how fast you want to forget, you can’t forget this.