Mario Mandzukic Underlines His Importance to Juventus in Win over Fiorentina

While still needing a single point to secure the Serie A title—pending Napoli’s clash with AS Roma on Monday—Juventus took a major step towards retaining the championship courtesy of a 2-1 win over Fiorentina on Sunday evening.

The match was reviewed in this previous post, and again the Bianconeri victory owed much to the performance of Paul Pogba. The midfielder delivered yet another impressive display, laying on the opening goal of the match to take his recent tally to four goals and six assists in his last six outings.

His unselfish header to create an opening for Mario Mandzukic broke the deadlock at the Stadio Artemio Franchi and provided an opportunity for the Croatia international to underline his value to Juventus.

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Mandzukic's goal. pic.twitter.com/sJAjbvknKS

— Khaled Al Nouss (@KhaledAlNouss) April 24, 2016"

Netting his 10th league goal of the season, Mandzukic has now bagged 13 times in all competitions, adding five assists in his debut campaign with the Turin giants.

His impact cannot be underestimated, with coach Massimiliano Allegri quick to sing his praises to Sky Sport Italia after the final whistle (h/t Football Italia):

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People maybe don’t realise, quite a few in fact, but Mandzukic is a very technically-gifted player.

He rarely gets a pass wrong and gave a fantastic assist to Paul Pogba, as he did to Sami Khedira the other day.

Paulo Dybala catches the eye because he’s quick and agile, but watch Mandzukic timing his runs and choosing his passes.

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High praise indeed, but deserved after another fine showing from the former Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich star.

As the graphic in the tweet below—courtesy of FourFourTwo StatsZone—highlights, Mandzukic netted with his only shot of the match against Fiorentina and completed 14 of his 20 pass attempts.

The 29-year-old was also successful on the one occasion he took on a Viola player and created three clear scoring opportunities, while his own defensive performance deserves to be noted. Making two clearances and winning the single aerial dual he contested, Mandzukic showed just why he has supplanted Alvaro Morata in the Juventus starting XI.

His form over the entire campaign has been of a similarly high standard, with his goals often proving vital to Juve’s efforts.

He joined the Bianconeri last summer in a €19 million deal, according to the club’s official website, and made an immediate impact as he opened the scoring in their SuperCoppa Italiana triumph over Lazio back in August.

Doing the same as the Italian side beat Manchester City in England, it would also be his goal that subsequently secured a 1-0 victory over the Premier League club in Turin back in November. Yet Mandzukic would—after scoring twice in a 3-2 win over Carpi—endure a barren streak that stretched from December to April.

In March, Allegri told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia) that the striker’s “generosity” in tracking back had hampered Mandzukic’s sharpness in front of goal, only to see him bounce back in emphatic fashion this month.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/Getty Images

Ending his drought to hand Juve a 1-0 win over Empoli, he went on to bag against Lazio and AC Milan, and his effort against Fiorentina means he has now struck four times in his last five outings and delivered on Allegri’s pre-season assessment of their new acquisition.

“Mandzukic scored goals in every league, has strong character, is of an international level and will do well,” the coach told Sky Sport Italia (h/t Football Italia) in June 2015. “We signed Mandzukic because we specifically wanted him. He’s a great player and I am very happy.”

Still needing to confirm the Serie A title and with the Coppa Italia final against AC Milan awaiting next month, Allegri will hope Mandzukic continues his current form to help La Madama seal two more trophies before the season is over.