Juve-Villarreal 0-3: black and white disaster. Difficult to find a less aggressive term to describe what happened at the Stadium, where Allegri's team made up for it a burning elimination in the round of XNUMX, the third consecutive after those with Lyon (Sarri) e Port (Pirlo). This time however, if possible, it hurts even more, if only because up until the 78th minute the match seemed in control, with extra time as a negative prospect. But then came theRugani's mistake resulting in rigore for the Spaniards and from there Juventus, in perfect harmony with a flatter second half than ever, not only failed to react, but ended up collapsing under the blows of the Yellow Submarine, cynical and ruthless in transforming a qualification into a triumph to be handed down to the posterity.
Allegri under accusation after Juve-Villarreal: this team has no identity
One could say that whoever injures Cortomuso from Cortomuso perishes, were it not for the fact that the final 0-3 of Juve-Villarreal is far from limited. Of course, one thing is the stark score, another is the conduct of the match, but imputing Juve's elimination to Rugani alone would be at least superficial. The match said that the bianconeri played a decent first half, enhanced by three flashes that could have changed history from Juve-Villarreal: one with Morata (header in the 11th minute with a save by Rulli) and two with Vlahovic, the first stopped by the crossbar, the second by the Argentine goalkeeper. However, in the second half, when it would have been reasonable to expect a storming Juve, determined to close the games for qualification, the pace clearly dropped, so much so that the additional hypothesis had now become the most probable.
Here it comes out the usual theme on the black and white game, too tied to the episodes and almost completely devoid of identity: is it possible that this team, with a much higher salary than that of Villarreal (seventh in Spain), is unable to create a single chance in 45'? Allegri probably thought he could come to terms with it at the first useful opportunity, a bit like in the league, but he hadn't reckoned with Emery, a top-level strategist, and with his changes, based on the search for the episode decisive.
- inputs by Coquelin and Gerard Moreno they sent Juve into a tailspin, in particular Rugani, who gave the Spaniards a penalty in the 78th minute, converted by Moreno himself. There, however, it would have been reasonable to expect a storming Juve, especially as a single goal would have been enough to put everything back in balance and drag the contest into extra time, instead the Lady literally collapsed, ending up suffering 0-2 (Pau Torres) and 0-3 (Danjuma again from a penalty, this time by De Ligt's arm) against zero shots on goal towards Rollers. Even on a mental level, in short, the Bianconeri have shown all their inadequacy, and if a few individual (and fortunate) situations may suffice in the league, this is not the case in the Champions League, where the lack of play and identity become too obvious to put remedy.
Allegri defends himself: "Bad defeat, but I have nothing to reproach the team with"
"The team did well for 75 minutes and in the second half Villarreal just waited, then unlocked it with an episode - thought Allegri - We accept this defeat, an ugly one, but I have nothing to reproach the boys for . We tried to change something in the second half, but Villarreal only thought about defending, we had our chances even if they only aimed for extra time. We were naive in the penalty episode, then we lost the distance on the pitch and we weren't able to resume the challenge. I congratulate Emery who made one of his matches, we have to accept that sometimes the episode goes against you, but I don't want to make controversy ”.
Could the elimination have negative effects on the championship?
The question is legitimate and many are asking it, starting with the Juventus fans. The feeling is that the mental balance of this Juve is not as strong as in the past, even if it is fair to underline how the path in Serie A (15 consecutive useful results) is still very respectable, at least in terms of results. The point, however, is precisely this: can a team that makes episodes its only source of victory absorb such a strong blow in the best possible way?
At the next games, starting with Sunday's with Salerno (but especially the one with Inter after the break), the arduous sentence, in the meantime, however, Juventus is dealing with yet another elimination in the round of XNUMX of the Champions League, the third in a row after those with Lyon and Porto. And this time pointing the finger at Sarri and Pirlo won't help, but rather we will have to ask ourselves if the path taken is the right one, or if it is not the case to have a nice chat with Allegri and understand what he has in mind for next season. where it will be essential to build something very different to respect the club's coat of arms, history and investments.
