A feat turned into a joke. Juventus returns from Madrid with a draw for which they probably would have signed on the eve but which instead, in the light of how the game went, has a rather bitter taste. A 2-2 at Atletico's home is never thrown away, especially in a group with very unbalanced values in which qualification, barring sensational twists, isn't even a subject of debate, but if you've reached 70 ' on 2-0, moreover without risking almost anything, it is logical that it ends up being close to you. In short, the so-called glass can be looked at from two different perspectives: full from the point of view of mentality and technical rate, empty from the point of view of defensive strength, so far the real Achilles' heel of this Juve.
Any other Italian team, it should be emphasized, would be praised out of proportion for a match like this at Atletico, but here we are talking about a custom-built one built to win, not to participate, and therefore destined to eliminate, or at least correct, certain flaws. Set-pieces above all: against Napoli Koulibaly had thought about it, despite him, to put them in the background, here instead they cost dearly.
“The goal from a corner can also be taken because they are very good, the first instead comes from a slow and predictable ball – commented Sarri. – Switch to man? It becomes dangerous given the interpretations of the Var, in any case we need to improve on this aspect ".
So far the negative notes, a bit like you do with the first in the class. However, it is undeniable that Madrid's Juve have shown enormous improvements compared to Florence, both from a competitive and technical point of view. The two goals scored perfectly photograph the potential of the marriage between Sarri and the Lady, along the lines of what has already been seen against Napoli.
After an opaque first half, in which Atletico, although without charming, was preferred, the bianconeri returned to the field in the best way, placing a one-two very difficult to collect without going down. Cuadrado's 1-0 is a jewel born from a splendid throw by Bonucci for Higuain, with an equally beautiful assist from Pipita and an even more beautiful left foot from the Colombian, surprisingly chosen by Sarri (and rightly so) in place of Bernardeschi (48 ' ).
The doubling instead came with a choral action, finalized by the insertion of the excellent Matuidi on a cross from Alex Sandro (65'). Everything was beautiful, at least until the 70th minute: Koke's free-kick, seemingly harmless, turned into an assist for Gimenez who, after overpowering Danilo, ended up straight on Savic's head, for the inevitable 2- 1. Juve had the merit of not getting too low, indeed they went one step away from the third goal which, most likely, would have closed every discussion, a pity however that Higuain preferred to finish on Oblak rather than serve Ronaldo, in a better position in the center area.
The result thus remained in the balance until the 90th minute and just then Atletico's equalizer arrived, again from a set piece, this time from a corner: the ball kicked by the usual Koke and Herrera's imperious detachment, for the final 2-2 blew up Simeone and all of Metropolitan Wanda. Ronaldo then gave the last thrill, just a breath away from 3-2 with a terrific personal play that went out inches from Oblak's goal: it would have been the apotheosis, instead it will remain only one of the many Portuguese pearls .
“It's a positive result, but the feeling is that we had the game in hand and drawing like this leaves a bitter taste in our mouths – commented Sarri. – We came close to three to one and the winning goal in added time, unfortunately predictable situations cost us the result”.
However, Juve returns home refreshed in spirit and morale, quite the opposite, in short, of Atalanta, massacred in Zagreb. The debut in the Champions League was highly traumatic, much more than it was legitimate to expect on the eve, when many thought that the Goddess could play it on equal terms. Instead, Dinamo proved to be sensationally superior, as can be seen from the final result, a 4-0 (Leovac on 10' and a hat-trick by Orsic on 31', 42' and 68') which leaves no room for anyone type of recrimination.
Atalanta wanted to prove to everyone, including themselves, that they didn't get here by chance, instead they ended up playing a terrible match, in which all their top quality players were barred. “We found an opponent who made us black, it's a tough defeat to digest but it's all there – admitted Gasperini in no uncertain terms. – They were better at winning back the ball, tackling, pressing, speed, in short, everything. But these matches have to teach us something, otherwise it's useless to get to play in the Champions League."
Appointment on October XNUMXst, when Juve will receive Bayer Leverkusen in Turin and Atalanta will go to San Siro to host Shakhtar: no mistakes will be allowed on that day…
