Juventus Benefit from Much-Improved Alvaro Morata and Paul Pogba Displays

Juventus head into the international break after a strange week—playing two matches in which the scoreline was not reflective of the game which preceded the full-time whistle.

It began with an excellent UEFA Champions League performance away to Bayern Munich, with the Bianconeri holding their own against Pep Guardiola’s men only to be eliminated courtesy of a 4-2 defeat.

It was much the same against Torino on Sunday, running out 4-1 winners in a difficult and closely contested derby clash with their neighbours. While the reigning Serie A title holders will be happy with three points against their city rivals, they will also take much confidence from the improved displays of two key men.

In each of those outings, both Alvaro Morata and Paul Pogba performed superbly, looking much sharper than they had in Juve’s previous recent fixtures. Each will now leave Turin on international duty buoyed by their impact in those two matches, with Juventus hoping that the duo returns in the same form after representing Spain and France, respectively.

There was perhaps an element of fortune to Pogba’s early goal in Munich, Stephan Lichtsteiner’s pass giving him a remarkably simply chance from where he found the back of the net. The same cannot be said of his opener against Torino, curling home an excellent free-kick from just outside the area.

It was arguably his first real moment of quality in the game, but from there Pogba improved and gave a markedly better account of himself.

Ending the encounter with a goal and two assists, the graphic in the tweet below—courtesy of FourFourTwo Stats Zone—shows the 23-year old also made six tackles, two interceptions and one clearance.

Torino had little answer for his ability as Pogba completed five of his seven attempted take-ons, recovered the ball five times and was fouled three times. He would also connect with 39 of his 48 pass attempts (81.2 percent), including an exquisite ball over the top of the defence from which Morata netted Juve’s third goal.

“It was a very important game for us,” the former Real Madrid man told Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia). “We were upset after Wednesday’s defeat to Bayern Munich, but we transformed that disappointment into positive energy.

"We are Juve, we want to win everything. It’s a shame we went out of the Champions League, as we could’ve won the trophy this season.”

"

Morata's goal. Great assist, Pogba. pic.twitter.com/LnXCpTlpXU

— Khaled Al Nouss (@KhaledAlNouss) March 20, 2016"

Nobody embodied that spirit more than Morata himself, ending a miserable spell that had seen him fall out of favour with head coach Massimiliano Allegri. His pace allowed him to torment Bayern during last week’s unfortunate loss, and he did much the same against Torino after being introduced in the 31st minute.

“The coach chose to leave me on the bench, but this is a team sport, so it stands to reason,” Morata said in that aforementioned interview, and he quickly set about imposing himself on the Granata defence.

Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

According to WhoScored.com, he hit the target with all three of his shot attempts, completed 89.5 percent of his passes and was fouled once. His second goal was also provided by Pogba, the midfielder’s blocked free-kick and follow-up attempt eventually falling to Morata, who tapped in from eight yards.

Even with those performances, Juventus made hard work of the derby, needing a goalmouth clearance from Daniele Rugani to secure victory, while Sami Khedira was sent off for dissent late on.

That red card—as well as impending suspensions for Alex Sandro and Leonardo Bonucci—mean that Juventus will likely lean on Morata and Pogba even more heavily when they return to action against Empoli on April 2.