Juventus don’t shine with beauty these days, the Old Lady has rather acted as a cool-headed record champion since the beginning of Serie A. Points are more important than esprit and spectacle. Points are more important than esprit and spectacle, and the 2-0 win against La Spezia confirmed that once again.
Dominant in a way, Juventus’ performance at home against outsiders Spezia Calcio was certainly, but only in the categories of possession, game control, field advantages. In terms of play, however, the Old Lady lacked a lot in terms of offensive power, penetrating power or finishing joy, just as she had done recently (0-0 at Sampdoria, 1-1 against Roma).
In the end, it was a standard that brought the deserved break lead – and what a standard it was: Turin’s striker Vlahovic grabbed the ball, as he had done days before against the Giallorossi, to flick it into the top right corner of the net (9th minute). The Bianconeri managed to keep their lead, which worked well until the end of the first 45 minutes. Although the visitors from La Spezia tried from time to time in the direction of the Juve goal, where Perin had come on for the injured Szczesny (43rd minute), it never became dangerous.
Gatti and Bremer: not to be overcome
After the restart, a copy of the first half was revealed after just a few minutes. Again, Juventus only did what was necessary, with Kean (46th) and homegrown Miretti (53rd) scoring. All in all, however, from a neutral point of view, this was already a poor display of football, and the additions of the two attacking newcomers Kostic and di Maria were of no help.
However, because the offensive efforts of outsiders Spezia Calcio were basically nonexistent and the Turin defence was never challenged, the Bianconeri could not necessarily be blamed for this style of play. You can call it clever and confident – but it was always successful.
The two new centre-backs Gatti (Frosinone) and Bremer (FC Torino), who was named the best defender in Italy last season, got on very well and did not let anything go wrong. The two seem to have found each other quickly in the absence of last year’s greats Chiellini (moved to Los Angeles), de Ligt (FC Bayern) and Bonucci (muscular problems).
Premiere for Milik
A further goal was then scored: After a cross from Miretti, the joker Milik, signed from Marseille, scored the final 2:0 (90.+2) with a clever finish from the turn – a great debut for the striker, who was wearing the Juve kit for the first time. It was also the certainty of the second win in the fourth game of the season, which means that the still unbeaten Bianconeri (eight points) have made a good start and are in the mix at the top.