In-Form Claudio Marchisio Is Silver Lining for Juventus in Shock Parma Loss

With just eight league games remaining of the 2014-15 season, there have been two common themes running throughout the campaign for Juventus.

The first has undoubtedly been the seamless transition to life under Massimiliano Allegri, the former Milan boss proving many of his doubters wrong in his first year with the Bianconeri.

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His impact is easily quantifiable—a quick glance in the direction of the Serie A table reinforcing his new side's dominance. However, Saturday’s 0-1 loss against Parma saw them fail to extend their 14-point lead over second-place AS Roma.

With the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against AS Monaco on Tuesday, last week also saw the side secure their place in the Coppa Italia final with an emphatic win over Fiorentina.

The team are playing in a much less structured manner than they did under Antonio Conte, and Allegri deserves huge credit for what he has managed to accomplish this season.

The second recurring theme—and one which serves to make the first even more impressive—is that Juve have managed to overcome a string of injuries to some vital players at crucial times.

Andrea Barzagli has been restricted to just three starts after recovering from a heel injury, while summer signing Romulo has managed only 97 minutes of action following his move from Hellas Verona. Kwadwo Asamoah has also undergone surgery—and featured in just six games—while a collection of issues have hampered Martin Caceres’ bid to earn a regular place in the first XI.

That problem is amplified in midfield, where Arturo Vidal’s return to form has been timely given the injuries suffered by both Paul Pogba and Andrea Pirlo. The latter is expected to feature against AS Monaco after missing out on Saturday’s visit to the Stadio Tardini, with Allegri telling his pre-match press conference that Pirlo “will be available for Tuesday,” per Football Italia.

Pogba will remain sidelined for a few more weeks yet, however, with the club’s official website believing the thigh injury the 22-year-old suffered against Borussia Dortmund last month would rule him out for around 50 days.

Those absences in such a key area have been somewhat lessened by the fact Stefano Sturaro and Roberto Pereyra have stepped up so impressively when called upon, with this previous column discussing the contribution made by the duo against Fiorentina last week.

The consistent excellence of Claudio Marchisio has perhaps been even more influential, however, with the 29-year-old in impressive form once again on Saturday evening. 

He was at the heart of everything positive from the visitors, his calm head and intelligent passing ensuring Juve’s play was proactive in possession and resolute when Parma had the ball. 

According to statistics from WhoScored.com, he had more touches (117) than any other player, while also completing an impressive 91.7 percent of his 96 pass attempts over the course of the game.

The same source shows he weighed in with one interception and three clearances, while also creating many of his side’s best chances as—without Pirlo or Carlos Tevez—he took responsibility at set pieces.

It was merely the continuation of the performances he has delivered all season, with WhoScored showing he has recorded per game averages of 64.1 passes, 2.6 tackles and 1.9 interceptions, while also adding two goals to go along with his five assists.

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Marchisio’s importance cannot be understated, which made the concern he had suffered a torn ACL while on international duty late last month hugely significant.

Limping off the field during an Italy training session, the Italian FA announced that injury with the subsequent speculation being that he would miss between six and eight months of action, per Ben Gladwell of ESPN.

That was quickly proved not to be the case, with Juventus issuing a statement via the club’s official website that said the player had undergone a second MRI scan which excluded "the possibility of a tear to the anterior cruciate ligament.”

Just a few days later, he would feature in that cup clash with Fiorentina, and the grand Old Lady clearly benefits from the presence of the Turin native.

They will need him again against AS Monaco and, as he has all season, the reliable Claudio Marchisio will likely deliver another excellent display.