Paul Pogba's Return vs. Cagliari Is Champions League Bonus for Juventus

On Saturday evening, Cagliari became the first visitors to Juventus Stadium following the Bianconeri clinched their fourth consecutive Serie A title. Yet despite clinching that honour away to Sampdoria last weekend, the season is far from over for Massimiliano Allegri’s men as the Champions League semi-final and the Coppa Italia Final await.

Taking that into consideration—and with only four days between this fixture and the second leg of their clash with Real Madrid—it was no surprise to see a heavily rotated starting XI from Italian football’s grand Old Lady. The coach had promised that would be the case at his pre-match press conference, telling reporters that Marco Storari would play in goal and admitting that Carlos Tevez would be rested, per the club’s official website.

Making no fewer than 10 changes—Claudio Marchisio was the only holdover from the first leg against the Spanish giants—Allegri ensured that the Bianconeri would certainly be refreshed for the return fixture. The coach also insisted that his team would finish the domestic campaign in style, believing he had “other players in good shape who are capable of winning the game,” and they all were given a chance against the Sardinian outfit.

Most importantly, however, there was huge interest in Paul Pogba’s return to the field following his injury layoff. Allegri said the meeting with Cagliari would “be useful to see how he’s looking and what he’s like on the ball ahead of Madrid.”

Given the fact he was lining up alongside nine backup players, it was inevitable the Frenchman would become the centre of attention, despite a pre-game warning from Beppe Marotta. “We cannot expect a world-beating performance,” the club’s director general told Sky Italia (h/t Football Italia), noting that the 22-year-old had missed almost two months of action.

Yet Pogba looked sharp from the outset, beating a Cagliari defender to earn a free-kick in the third minute, which he subsequently smashed narrowly wide. 

He would test visiting goalkeeper Zeljko Brkic a number of times in the first half—including a neat piece of control with his chest and a shot on the turn—before playing an excellent through ball to Alessandro Matri. Pogba would eventually break the deadlock, however, gathering the ball just inside the box, turning to strike a powerful effort that took a deflection off Luca Ceppitelli before hitting the back of the net.

Massimo Pinca/Associated Press

The goal came just before half-time, and the player himself said he had suffered no problems with his fitness in the opening 45 minutes. "I'd been out for 52 days, so it's only natural I'm not completely 100 percent,” he said as he left the field, according to the club’s official Twitter account. “I feel good though, everything's fine."

It was his 10th goal of the campaign—one more than he managed in 2013-14—and he has also weighed in with four assists, two of which came in the Champions League. Pogba would add to neither tally in the second half, playing just 20 minutes before being replaced by Paolo De Ceglie as Allegri ensured he did not aggravate his injury or suffer fatigue.

As the graphic above—courtesy of the FourFourTwo StatsZone app shows—Pogba completed 37 of his 45 pass attempts (82 percent), made one successful take-on, recovered the ball twice and won both aerial duals that he contested.

Cagliari would equalise through Luca Rossettini with just five minutes remaining, but for Juventus, the result was a secondary consideration. None of their key men were injured, and the performance of the returning Paul Pogba will only add to the optimism running through the club as they head to the Spanish capital for their date with destiny.