Juventus Beat Milan but Miss Attacking Threat of Juan Cuadrado and Paulo Dybala

Saturday evening saw Juventus travel to San Siro, the Bianconeri knowing a win over AC Milan would only serve to increase the pressure being felt by closest rivals Napoli. Already holding a six-point lead at the top of Serie A, the Turin giants could extend that gap over a side set to be hit heavily by suspensions this weekend.

As discussed in this previous post, second-place Napoli will have leading scorer Gonzalo Higuain, coach Maurizio Sarri, key defender Kalidou Koulibaly and midfielder Dries Mertens all banned for Sunday’s meeting with Hellas Verona (h/t Football Italia).

Yet Juventus knew the clash against Milan would not be straightforward, with coach Massimiliano Allegri telling a pre-match press conference his former side would “want to unleash all the nervous energy they’ll have following a week’s training camp.”

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That would be an accurate assessment as the Rossoneri looked completely reinvigorated, pressing and harrying their opponents in the early going. That extra effort paid off as Mario Balotelli won an 18th minute corner, subsequently finding Alex with the set-piece and the Brazilian scored with a superb header.

Slowly Juventus fought their way back to level terms. However, Gigi Buffon’s long ball from the back led to a good chance Mario Mandzukic would convert. Despite continued pressure from Milan, Paul Pogba would hand the reigning champions a second-half lead and the Bianconeri once again claimed all three points, courtesy of a 2-1 final scoreline.

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Pogba's goal. pic.twitter.com/ZIw0b0GX26

— Khaled Al Nouss (@KhaledAlNouss) April 9, 2016"

But it was no easy feat, particularly with both Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado absent. Allegri told that aforementioned press conference he was not ready to risk the former as he recovers from injury, while the latter was left on the bench in favour of others in midfield.

Yet devoid of the speed and creativity that duo provides, Juventus were perhaps unsurprisingly left lacking fluidity and creativity in attack. Dybala’s eight assists—the same number as Pogba—are a joint team high, while Cuadrado’s tally of five sees him rank third among all Juventus players, with the same trio leading in terms of chances created.

According to the graphic below courtesy of Squawka.com, Dybala has conjured no fewer than 63 scoring opportunities this term—another team high—with Cuadrado’s total of 36 again seeing him rank third in the squad.

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The South American pair are also among the best dribblers available to Allegri, with figures provided by WhoScored.com showing Cuadrado’s average of 2.5 again is narrowly ahead of Dybala’s 2.3. Without that spark of unpredictability, Juventus become a functional but somewhat predictable side that is much easier to contain.

All too often they then become over-reliant on Pogba to lift the team, and were fortunate that against Milan he was able to do just that. When speaking to Mediaset Premium after the game, his boss admitted it had been a tough night for his side as they look to win a fifth consecutive Serie A title.

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“We could’ve played better in some moments,” Allegri said (h/t Football Italia). It was a difficult match, because it is never easy to win at San Siro. Milan have good players and it was important we not slow down our progress.”

“Today we did well and proved we are a mature side. It’s a deserved victory,” Pogba would say in his own interview with Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia) shortly after the final whistle. “We realised how important this match was. I am happy for the team and for me.”

He can and should be pleased with his individual performance, but Pogba, Allegri and others at Juventus will undoubtedly be aware they will need more unpredictability in attack if they are to advance as a team in the future.