Juventus vs. Sevilla: Winners and Losers from Champions League Game
Juventus have endured their worst domestic start in decades this season, but the same cannot be said in the Champions League. For the first time since Antonio Conte led them back to Europe's premier competition three years ago, the Bianconeri have won their first two games of the group stage.
Wednesday's game against Sevilla was far and away the most complete game Juve has played all season. Players that have been subpar to this point improved markedly, and a major debut helped solidify the midfield in a huge way.
Who shined most at the Juventus Stadium? Who was off the pace in this big Champions League encounter?
Let's look deeper at this game to find out.
Winner: Alvaro Morata
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Alvaro Morata has quietly been putting together a hugely impressive run in Champions League play.
His goal in the 41st minute was his fifth in his last five Champions League matches, dating back to the first leg of the semifinal against Real Madrid.
Wednesday's goal went a long way toward his development as a complete forward. It wasn't often in his first season with Juve that he scored with his head. But he confidently attacked a wonderful cross from Andrea Barzagli to open the scoring.
He was everywhere in his 80 minutes on the field, holding the ball up, dropping into midfield when required and moving out wide when necessary. The 22-year-old is developing rapidly and turning into the kind of complete forward rare in world football these days.
No greater voice than Gianluigi Buffon told the Spanish newspaper Marca (h/t Football Italia) in the run-up to the game that Morata would be one of the best strikers in the world in a matter of years. Wednesday's performance only confirmed that view.
The sky is the limit for Morata, and he is an absolute must-start when healthy in all competitions.
Loser: Coke
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It was an awful game for longtime Sevilla right-back Coke.
The Spaniard was beaten down his flank time and again by the combo of Patrice Evra and Paul Pogba. When Juve's forwards or other midfielders came to help, it only made matters worse.
He was completely anonymous. According to WhoScored.com, he only made one tackle and one interception, did nothing to contribute to the attack and only completed 76.4 percent of his passes—the worst number along Sevilla's back line by a significant margin.
Coke is entrenched in his position, but if Sevilla are to play well in its next two games against Manchester City, their right-back is going to have to step up, especially when faced with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero.
Improvement is needed.
Winner: Sami Khedira
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Massimiliano Allegri chose a high-pressure situation to give Sami Khedira his long-awaited Juventus debut, but the veteran rose to the occasion.
Out since August after suffering a thigh injury in a preseason friendly, the World Cup winner was influential from an early stage, making a sliding tackle in his own penalty area to stifle a well-worked free-kick routine that represented one of the only real chances Sevilla made for themselves on the night.
Even more impressive than what he did on the ball and on the field was the intangible effect of his presence. Paul Pogba and Hernanes, both of whom were horrible in Juve's weekend loss to Napoli, significantly improved in this match. Neither produced his absolute best, but both were far more secure in their passing and defensive play.
Pogba in particular looked far more settled. He displayed his delightful dribbling skills to bamboozle defenders in the opposing half on several occasions, and the recklessness that he displayed when defending against Napoli was absent. While he still succumbed occasionally to his long-held weakness of attempting the Hollywood ball when a simpler move would be the better choice, his marked improvement was encouraging.
It looks fairly clear that Pogba and (to a lesser extent) Hernanes were putting too much pressure on themselves in the absence of Khedira and Claudio Marchisio. With one recovered and the other due back after the international break, they may finally calm down.
That, more than anything else, was the major contribution Khedira made.
Loser: Yevhen Konoplyanka
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Yevhen Konoplyanka arrived at Sevilla this summer after impressing with Dnipro in last year's Europa League. He showed promise in his first Champions League appearance—a seven-minute cameo against Borussia Monchengladbach that produced a goal—but needs to improve if he's to make an impact against a side like Juventus.
While WhoScored does credit him as the owner of Sevilla's only shot of the game, it was a tame effort from distance that didn't come close to troubling the legendary Gianluigi Buffon. Only one of his six crosses found a teammate—and even then didn't produce an opportunity—and he only completed 72 percent of his passes.
The Ukraine international may own the No. 10 shirt for his country, but Wednesday was a rude awakening for him as to what it takes to succeed at this level of the game.
Winner: Andrea Barzagli
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In January of 2011, Andrea Barzagli was considered a spent force. Juve director Giuseppe Marotta bought him from Wolfsburg that winter for €500,000.
In the next four-and-a-half years, all he's done is entrench himself on the list of the best center backs around today. On Wednesday he showed why, even at 34, he still belongs in that conversation.
TV broadcasts listed him as a right-back when they presented the starting lineups before the game, and when Sevilla had the ball he did seem to slot in on the right flank. But when Juve had the ball he instantly resumed his old position on the right of the back line in a 3-5-2, while Juan Cuadrado pushed forward hard.
Midway through the first half he charged half the length of the field at full tilt to try to cross a loose ball into the Sevilla penalty area, earning a huge ovation from the crowd. With 40 minutes on the clock, he was in a better position to put a ball in, and off a feed from Cuadrado he popped a wonderful first-time cross for Morata to score the opener.
As the clock ticked down, he took his customary place in front of Gianluigi Buffon, shutting the door on any attempt at an equalizer.
Goal.com's Chris Baker said in his live commentary of Juve's Champions League opener with Manchester City, "It is difficult to think of a harder task in European football, maybe in world football, than breaking down a Juventus side protecting a lead with less than ten minutes to go. ... Juve are past masters of seeing out these type of situations. They've made it an art form."
Barzagli, whether as a starter or a late sub, is the key to that ability to lock down leads, as showed again at the end of Wednesday's match.
Easily the man of the match in our book, Barzagli thoroughly deserves all the credit in this game.
Loser: Ciro Immobile
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Ciro Immobile grew up at Sorrento's academy before moving to Juve's youth program in 2008. Consistently blocked in the years that followed, Juve finally moved on from him when they sold their half of his rights to Borussia Dortmund last year.
Twice in the last seven months—in the first leg of last season's round of 16 against Dortmund and again Wednesday—Immobile has had the opportunity to stick it to the club that never gave him a chance.
Twice in the last seven months, he's failed.
Coming on as a sub in the 64th minute, Immobile only managed two touches (according to the aforementioned WhoScored stats) in the 26 minutes he was on the field. His viability for Antonio Conte's national side is in serious question, and he is rapidly being condemned to the status of journeyman.
His fantastic 2013-14 season, when he won the title of capocannoniere with Torino, is looking more and more like either a fluke or a product of his gifted manager, Giampiero Ventura.
If he wants to see his prospects improve, he's going to have to do a lot better than this.
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