Verdict postponed. Juventus didn't go beyond the draw against Borussia Moenchengladbach and, thanks to Manchester City's victory (in extremis) over Sevilla, postponed any qualifying speech to the second leg. A victory would not have closed the game mathematically, this must be said, however it would have been healthy both from the point of view of the standings (the Bianconeri still lead the group with 7 points) and morale.
The night at the Stadium bears witness, if still needed, to all the personality problems of a technically valid team, yet unable to dominate the opponents as in the past. “I'm very angry, we have to learn how to score and instead, just like in Milan, we ran out – commented Allegri at the press conference. – We've had few clean chances but there were plenty of prerequisites for scoring, just like against Inter”.
The Juventus coach was rather annoyed, on the other hand a victory would have been really important to restart an engine that has been flooded for some time. His Juve just can't get going: even yesterday, despite numerous shots towards Sommer's goal, no goals arrived. The defense continues to risk little but this, in the light of the results, is no longer enough. Once again, as almost always in the season, Allegri's choices end up under accusation.
Why include Dybala only in the 80th minute? And why remove Cuadrado, one of the few capable of wreaking havoc on the German defence? And again: why insist on Conte's 3-5-2 without having the main players anymore? “Cuadrado was tired, he played many games in a row and didn't have his usual brilliance – the coach replied. – Dybala is a young man who needs to grow, he will become a great player but not as a first striker like he used to play in Palermo ”.
It will be, in the meantime, however, there are 2 consecutive games without scoring and in both, coincidentally, the Argentine (paid 40 million) only played a few minutes. The gray 0-0 of the Stadium, as well as with the compactness of Borussia, can be explained precisely by the lack of lucidity in the last 30 meters. Juve found themselves in the German "red zone" many times, both in the first and second half, yet they were unable to create almost anything.
It must also be said that the Scottish referee Thompson did his best: first by not sending off Dominguez for a foul on Morata thrown on goal (clearer goal chance than that…), then by not conceding a penalty to Mandzukic, who was sunk in the area by same Spanish defender. “All true, the match could change – thought Allegri. – Referee errors, however, must not become an alibi, we had the chance to win anyway”.
In short, the Juventus coach doesn't look for excuses and who knows if the change of attitude (usually the self control is much greater) won't help to wake up his team. On Sunday there will be Atalanta, then, before going to Moenchengladbach, the away game in Sassuolo and the derby with Torino. Tough calendar and, points in hand, almost decisive for the rest of the season. Which can still become positive or sink into oblivion. To Juventus the arduous sentence…
