Juve, Thiago Motta's turning point: the 5 stars in attack to regain the Champions League

Journalist

December 24 – 12.47pm – TORINO

You never forget the first time, especially if it's a winner and even if it only lasted a while. Thiago Motta had to wait a long time to have all his big players (and Douglas Luiz is still missing, out due to physical problems) but with Monza he was finally able to deploy his five stars: Teun Koopmeiners in midfield, Francisco Conceiçao, Nico Gonzalez and Kenan Yildiz at midfield and Dusan Vlahovic at centre-forward. It may be a coincidence, but with this ultra-offensive line-up Juventus has found a success that had been missing in the league for a month and a half (last victory in the derby on 9 November). Suffering yes, because beating Monza wasn't as easy as the league table might make you think, but never more than in moments like this what counts is the result, especially if you're in sixth place and the Champions League zone is at minus 3. The The experiment worked and the five stars were the protagonists: Koop took the corner for McKennie's 1-0 goal, Nico scored the second goal, Conçeicao was the usual tireless motor and Yildiz gave delights. The least lively of the five was Dusan Vlahovic, who however will have time to recover and benefit from the new set-up, especially if Motta decides to insist on the new front-wheel drive formula.

What a mix

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Precedents say that the five stars in Juventus bring luck: in 2016-17 Massimiliano Allegri used the 4-2-3-1 to make Pjanic, Cuadrado, Dybala, Mandzukic and Higuain coexist and won the Scudetto and the Italian Cup, reaching the Champions League final , where he only surrendered to Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid. Other times, other ambitions. Thiago's Lady is under construction, Max's was in the middle of a unique and overwhelming cycle. However, the five-star key could be the right one to enhance the quality of the individuals and make the offensive department, which until now has been very dependent on Vlahovic, more productive (out of 41 total goals, 12 were scored by the Serbian, or almost 30%). Koop's tactical sense, Chico's dribbling, Nico's versatility, Yildiz's refined technique and Dusan's killer instinct: a nice mix to make the Lady more effervescent and pungent in the highlight of the season. In January, Juventus will compete in the Italian Super Cup – the first trophy that can be put on the board under the new Motta management – with Inter, Milan and Atalanta, they will have to make up ground in the championship and secure qualification for the Champions League round of 16.

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Solidity and ductility

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To bear the weight of the five stars, however, Juventus must rediscover the defensive solidity that was its strong point at the beginning of the season, before Gleison Bremer's injury. The Brazilian will be out for the whole of 2024-25 due to a torn cruciate and the Bianconeri are finding new balances at the back with Gatti and Kalulu. Madama has always conceded goals in the last 4 championship matches (6 in total) and no longer has the best defense in Serie A (13 goals conceded, one more than Napoli). More sacrifice will be needed from everyone, including the attackers. «My boys know that the defensive phase is not an option but an obligation», is the mantra of Motta, who focuses heavily on the interchangeability of his men: Nico started as an attacking midfielder with Monza but can also play as a winger or the central striker, ditto Yildiz, as well as Koop who from an attacking midfielder has moved back to play the midfielder. The five stars lasted only a half due to the injury of Koopmeiners, who came out due to a muscular problem which however is not a concern: 45 minutes were enough to beat Monza and regain success after a month and a half.