Juventus Flaws Remain, but in Gonzalo Higuain They Have a Man Who Can Mask Them

Having secured top spot in their UEFA Champions League group just a few days earlier, Juventus made the short journey across Turin to take on neighbours Torino in the latest edition of the Derby della Mole.

The match has long been one of Serie A’s most underrated rivalries, and with the hosts enjoying a good season of their own, Sunday's fixture was always going to be tense. The Granata were sitting in seventh place before the clash began, with coach Sinisa Mihajlovic already building the side into a formidable unit after being appointed back in the summer.

Solid defensively and bright in midfield, it was in attack where Il Toro have been most impressive, with Iago Falque and Adem Ljajic bagging seven and five goals respectively. Both have also weighed in with three assists, but it was undeniably striker Andrea Belotti who has taken centre stage.

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GOOOL Il GALLO BELOTTI!!!!!

TORINO UP 1-0 OVER JUVENTUS pic.twitter.com/PXPJMW7UGu

— ItalianFootballTV (@IFTV_Official) December 11, 2016"

He would quickly do the same here, with the 22-year-old getting goal side of Stephan Lichtsteiner after just 16 minutes. Daniele Baselli, who had burst down the right, picked Belotti out with an inch-perfect cross, and the Calcinate native steered his header perfectly beyond Gigi Buffon.

It was a deserved lead and a fitting scorer given his form in 2016/17. The goal marked Belotti’s 11th of the Serie A campaign. He has also struck once in the Coppa Italia and three goals in five international appearances for Italy.

The home crowd erupted with joy, hopeful of improving their recent poor record against the Bianconeri, winning just once since 1995 against their crosstown rivals. For the next 10 minutes, the team would find that same belief, dominating the game while rarely allowing Juve time and space to find an equaliser.

Then Gonzalo Higuain got sight of goal. The lively Juan Cuadrado played the ball forward to Mario Mandzukic, with the Croatia international laying it off to his strike partner almost inadvertently.

Bearing down on Joe Hart, Higuain gave the England goalkeeper no time to react, firing a well-placed shot into the bottom corner before wheeling away in celebration just one day after his 29th birthday.

The two teams exchanged chances and the upper hand as the match wore on, with Daniele Rugani and Belotti engaging in a tense head-to-head battle. The Juve man was perhaps fortunate not to be shown a first-half red card for one challenge.

Sami Khedira, Marco Benassi, Falque and Ljajic all fluffed good chances as time ticked on, but then came a raft of substitutions. Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri sent on Paulo Dybala and Miralem Pjanic, and Mihajlovic responded by introducing Afriyie Acquah, Josef Martinez and Lucas Boye.

With Higuain having isolated himself against the 21-year-old Toro full-back Antonio Barreca, Giorgio Chiellini fired a long ball forward toward him. The striker collected that pass, span around the defender and smashed a right-footed effort between his legs, netting the 200th league goal of his career.

Falling behind broke the Granata resistance, quickly allowing Juve to boss the remaining minutes, with Dybala tormenting them every time he got on the ball. The 23-year-old had made a brief cameo against Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday, with that match marking his first appearance since suffering a thigh strain in late October.

He repeatedly skipped past Torino defenders here, but in stoppage time, he helped seal all three points for the Bianconeri. Flying down the right flank, his pass found Higuain, who in turn drew a good save from Hart, only to see Dybala leave the defence flat-footed to collect the ball again.

Rather than shoot himself, the Juve No. 21 instead set up Pjanic, who needed two shots to beat Hart and secure the victory. While the goal saw the midfielder get on the scoresheet, it was undoubtedly his team-mate who deserved the plaudits that came along with it.

Allegri was happy to provide just as much when he spoke to Mediaset Premium at full time (h/t Football Italia): "Dybala is extraordinary and getting back in shape, though that will take time. It’s understandable if Mandzukic wasn’t too happy, but at that time, I needed more technical quality. Once the frenetic tempo calmed down a little, the quality ended up making the difference."

With a clash against AS Roma and then the Supercoppa Italiana meeting against AC Milan in Qatar both coming before Christmas, Dybala’s return could not come at a better time for the Bianconeri. But nor could Higuain's form.

Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Having netted just twice in a run of 10 matches, the former Real Madrid man has struck three goals in his last two outings. Allegri, speaking in that aforementioned interview, insisted he brings much more to the side.

"I’m happy with Higuain, even when he doesn’t score, because he provides a big contribution," the coach continued. "I know he lives for the goal, but that’s not the only reason he was signed."

Yet looking deeper into his performance against Torino, the statistics fail to show any greater impact on the match. As the FourFourTwo Stats Zone graphic in the tweet below highlights, Higuain completed only 12 passes but took six shots, focusing clearly on putting the ball in the back of the net.

“We're still working hard to improve, and we've won a really important match," Higuain said after the win, per Juve’s official website. "We're a great team, and today we put in an excellent performance. However, we're already thinking about next week. We have to prepare as best as we can to be ready for Roma."

With 12 goals in all competitions for the Bianconeri, he also noted that his previous poor run had not worried him: "The important thing was to win and that's what we did. I've always stayed calm, even when the goals weren't coming."

Though his scoring made the difference on Sunday, his off-ball runs also deserve attention. Constantly drifting wide or deep, Higuain pulled the Torino defence out of shape at every opportunity, with the video below highlighting that it is nothing new as he continues to make his presence felt in a number of ways:

The derby victory—Juve’s 100th all-time win against the Granata—was merely the latest example, but it almost certainly will not be the last despite some problems remaining elsewhere in the team.

This previous post discussed the problems Lichtsteiner has encountered, and those continued here, as he was constantly caught out of position. Not for the first time, Stefano Sturaro also looked poor in midfield, but the Bianconeri are fortunate to be able to call upon Higuain in this kind of form.

Powerful on the ball and determined to lift the team to glory, there are certainly some similarities between his style and that of compatriot Carlos Tevez. Yet Higuain also makes Juve fans reminisce about a predator like David Trezeguet, with his driving runs and penalty-box instincts a frightening combination for any defence to face.

In this form, he is unstoppable, masking the flaws in Allegri’s team. And while bigger tests will certainly arrive as the campaign progresses, he helped supporters of the Old Lady enjoy bragging rights in her hometown once again.