And at the 27th the Lady rested. Juventus' unbeaten run ended in Verona, with a defeat that was as noisy as it was painless. Because if it's true that absolutely nothing changes in terms of standings, it's equally true that a knockout after 6 months (25 wins and 1 draw) causes a sensation, especially at the bottom of the class. Bentegodi's 2-0, in addition to putting an end to Juventus' unbeaten run, turns on a small alarm bell in view of the Italian Cup final: Milan are in much worse shape, agreed, but facing them with dead batteries could prove to be fatal.
“I didn't like the attitude, we shouldn't have played a match like that – Allegri's piqued comment. – Verona were good and, unlike us, they had the right mentality from the start. We've been disconnected, plus we've made too many technical mistakes. This defeat could also do us good, we absolutely have to get back in shape for the final".
The Juventus coach's outburst is understandable, always oriented towards asking the maximum from his players, but deep down he too knows that a misstep, after more than 6 months of victories, can be accepted without too much alarmism. The "Juve 2" took to the field at Bentegodi, very different from the one that will contest the Italian Cup against Milan on 21 May, furthermore they were facing a motivated opponent who was determined to end his season in the best possible way and, above all, the career of Luca Toni, in his last game in professional football.
A midfield with Sturaro, Lemina and Asamoah (very good players taken individually but never on the pitch all together from the start) could only offer Verona's side, especially in an evening with nothing at stake. The goal that everyone was waiting for arrived in the 43rd minute: contact between Alex Sandro and Pisano, penalty converted by Toni with a soft and mocking spoon behind Neto.
In the second half, despite a greater commitment from Juve, it was again Verona who found the net, this time with Viviani, good at exploiting the black and white defensive hole and killing Neto for the sensational 2-0 (55'). Dybala's goal (penalty in the 94th minute) served just the statistics: Joya reached 21 in the season, thus equaling the much more popular compatriot Tevez. David beat Goliath, but the feeling is that it was more a coincidence than anything else.
The real Juve should meet again next Saturday against Sampdoria, otherwise Allegri's worries could really find foundation.
