Juventus: Breaking Down Paul Pogba's Performance vs. Atalanta

Having dropped points against a resilient Cesena side last week, it was important Juventus bounced back against Atalanta on Friday evening. The game—brought forward to allow the Bianconeri more time to prepare for next week’s Champions League outing—presented a final warm-up outing for that crucial clash with Borussia Dortmund.

The German side looking much improved from when the two sides were paired together back in December, winning their last three domestic fixtures to slowly climb the Bundesliga table. Massimiliano Allegri knew the importance of a win against the Bergamo-based side, and told reporters what he expected from his team.

“We have to keep our feet on the ground and continue to work,” he told reporters at a press conference earlier this week (h/t Football Italia) and the coach will have been frustrated to see his advice go unheeded as Juventus quickly fell behind.

Yet perhaps more than growing annoyed at the poor defending that lead to Giulio Migliaccio's goal, perhaps Allegri can take heart from the response his team gave. Andrea Pirlo will rightly gather the plaudits for his display—reviewed in detail here—but looking closer at other players may reveal further information.

It is all too easy to assess a man who nets a match-winning goal, so here the focus shifts to another midfielder, Paul Pogba. The Frenchman has given far better performances than his display against Atalanta, which perhaps makes analysing it slightly more revealing.

On the surface, it is easy to suggest the 21-year-old contributed little to the victory, and there was certainly no net-busting long-range shot to add to his ever-growing collection. But looking below the surface, Pogba adhered to the advice of his coach more than any other player in those famous black-and-white stripes.

Only one yellow card from suspension, there were no rash tackles from the former Manchester United midfielder, meaning that he—unlike five of his team-mates—avoided a booking that would have ruled him out of next week’s meeting with AS Roma.

Massimo Pinca/Associated Press

Yet as the above graphic from the FourFourTwo Stats Zone app highlights, Pogba did win two of the three challenges he contested, and blocked one cross as he covered for left-back Simone Padoin. It also highlights four other occasions where he recovered the ball, working hard to protect the defence and eventually secure the victory.

His passing was effective, statistics from WhoScored.com showing he connected with 52 attempts at a 84.6 percent completion rate, also finding his target with all five long-ball attempts. The majority of those were cross-field passes to release Martin Caceres, and Juventus were unfortunate that the Uruguayan did not do more with them.

Pogba also took up some interesting positions, occasionally occupying a central role in attack when Carlos Tevez went wide and Fernando Llorente dropped deep, as the image below captures. That variety presents a difficult problem for opponents, unsure of who should mark who as they are dragged into unfamiliar territory.

Had Caceres or Llorente been somewhat sharper in front of goal, it is likely Pogba would have added to his 2014-15 tally of three assists, both men guilty of squandering chances while the Frenchman’s only shot was saved by the Atalanta goalkeeper.

There was still time for a wonderful piece of skill however, as he span away from a sliding defender with a grace of ease that had to be seen to be believed. Watching such a powerful athlete turn so comfortably on the ball is almost unfair, but that is the beauty of watching Pogba’s talent blossom.

Overall, it was a workman-like display from the midfielder, one of which he should genuinely be proud as he played with a maturity that only serves to make that ability even more significant. It is too reductive to simply say he had a bad game, as deeper analysis shows that while he was far from his best form, Paul Pogba still found ways to contribute.