Juventus and Andrea Pirlo Looking for Form Ahead of Crucial Champions League Tie

Juventus welcomed Atalanta to Turin on Friday evening, claiming a 2-1 win over the visitors in the latest fixture in their quest to secure a fourth consecutive league title. Yet, as they started the game no fewer than seven points ahead of nearest rivals AS Roma, the Bianconeri could be forgiven if their minds were elsewhere.

With a crucial Champions League meeting with Borussia Dortmund looming large on the horizon, the relegation-threatened visitors grabbed a surprising lead after just 25 minutes. A corner by Urby Emanuelson was met by Giulio Migliaccio’s header from an acute angle and left Gigi Buffon completely stranded.

The Juve captain looked bemused and—given that Atalanta had netted just seven times in 12 away fixtures this term—he was not alone. To compound that feeling, Massimiliano Allegri had actually warned against such complacency at his pre-match press conference, telling reporters (h/t Football Italia):

"

I think at the moment we’ve lost sight of the goal—or one of the goals—of our season. It seems like the League is something which is already in the bank, already won.

I don’t think the numbers say that. It’s true we have some points over Roma, but there are a lot of games to go until the end so we have to get back to thinking one game at a time.

"

The strike clearly stung the reigning Serie A champions into action, and they soon reacted to finding themselves behind. Martin Caceres was a constant outlet on the right flank, with Paul Pogba picking him out with some wonderful cross-field passes as the Bianconeri went in search of an equaliser.

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The Uruguayan defender had a great chance from one of those raking balls, but was denied by a fine save from Marco Sportiello. Fernando Llorente wasted his side’s best chances, the Spanish striker continuing the poor run that has seen him lose his place in the line-up to Alvaro Morata.

It was frustrating to see him in such wasteful mood, particularly as the team were looking to find their collective form ahead of their return to European action. A corner from Andrea Pirlo eventually resulted in something of a goalmouth scramble, with Llorente managing to knock the ball home.

The next 10 minutes played out without any real incident, and as half-time approached, it appeared the two sides would head into the break on level terms. Pirlo had other ideas, however, picking the ball up around 25 meters out and unleashing a shot that dipped and swerved so severely that Sportiello stood no hope of stopping it.

It was a moment of genius from the 35-year-old, and one he perhaps needed almost as much as Juventus themselves. It was the former Milan midfielder who had given the ball away to allow Cesena to secure a well-deserved point last weekend, and Pirlo has not enjoyed the best of seasons so far.

While the strike took him to three this term—just one behind last year’s tally—he has struggled with the tactical changes imposed by Allegri. His team-mates have clearly enjoyed the switch to 4-3-2-1, playing with greater attacking freedom, but Pirlo appears to miss the defensive protection offered by the three-man defence.

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The lack of an extra man means Leonardo Bonucci steps forward far less often, creating greater pressure on Pirlo to create, while also stripping him of the added security behind him. Recently, those factors combined to suggest Juventus might have been better opting for a midfield of Pogba, Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal against Dortmund.

Yet, as he so often has, Pirlo served up a timely reminder of his quality, and the Italy international is now almost certain to start Tuesday’s first leg. His passing remains as crisp as ever, with statistics from WhoScored.com showing he is making more passes per game (76.1) with greater accuracy (88.8 per cent) than he did last term.

It was also his second match-winning goal of 2014-15 following his stunning effort in November’s derby win over Torino. The team performance was still subpar, but Andrea Pirlo proved that he can deliver when the Old Lady needs him to, and both will hope he can repeat that feat after the Champions League anthem fills Juventus Stadium on Tuesday.