September's Monthly Juventus Thoughts: The Magic Number

The 2024-25 season is well underway. While Juventus have conceded only one goal in all competitions through the month of September, Thiago Motta’s team is struggling to score goals consistently. The season is still long and the honeymoon period of the first two games has definitely passed, but the general feeling is that fans are optimistic about where things are headed and reasonably satisfied with the results so far.

That said, with Juventus sat in second place after six games played in Serie A, if the only thing we’re complaining about is not scoring enough goals then I’m perfectly fine with that.

Three, it’s the magic number

Juventus started the month with a hard-fought goalless draw against AS Roma. It was a game of few opportunities, fierce defending, and little offensive quality. In a tense, tactical match, it seemed that Roma had the slightly better chances though Juventus briefly came to life when on-loan Portuguese winger Francisco Conceição came off the bench in the second half.

Next, the Bianconeri traveled to Tuscany to face Empoli. Although the result of this game was the same as the previous one — 0-0 — it was interesting to watch. Goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made an impressive save to prevent captain Federico Gatti’s header from going into goal in the first half. Dusan Vlahovic then had a pair of chances early in the second half but Vásquez again did well to save on both occasions.

Empoli then had two big chances — one in stoppage time of the second half — where they came close to grabbing an unlikely victory, but Mattia Perin made a great save for the first chance and Gatti made a terrific block late in the game to prevent Emmanuel Gyasi from scoring late in the game. Final score: 0-0.

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And then ... goals! Finally!

Juventus opened their Champions League campaign with a convincing 3-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven. Kenan Yildiz became the club’s youngest Champions League goalscorer (breaking the record of a certain Juventus legend) with a stunning goal in the 21st minute. Weston McKennie continued his revival from exile by putting in an excellent performance and scoring the team’s second goal a few minutes after Yildiz’s goal.

Juventus were running hot and continued their dominance in the second half with another goal. New signing Nicolás González received a fantastic through ball from Vlahovic and finished with a nice shot in the 52nd minute. Credit to Teun Koopmeiners for starting the move by winning possession high up the pitch. Juventus finished the game out comfortably except for conceding a needless goal in the last second of the game as Ismael Saibari gave PSV a late, late consolation goal: 3-1.

Motta’s team went back to its goalless ways in the next match at home against Napoli. Despite the frustrating result — a third consecutive goalless draw in the league — there were positive signs throughout the game. The team dominated possession and there was a clear intent to attack, but Conte’s team was well drilled and the game was just very evenly matched: 0-0.

As we all know, and as the great group De La Soul once sang, three is the magic number. Juventus proved that once again by beating Genoa 3-0 in the last game of the month, the third time they’ve recorded a victory with that scoreline this season (of course, the other victory was the 3-1 triumph over PSV in the Champions League). Despite the convincing scoreline though, the first half ended goalless, which made us worry that the three goalless draws in prior games were more than just a coincidence.

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Thankfully, ex-Juventino Koni De Winter gave us a helping hand (heh heh) when his clumsy handball in the box resulted in a penalty at the start of the second half. Vlahovic scored a perfect penalty to end his and his team’s scoring drought. He doubled our lead just a few minutes later when he picked up Koopmeiners’ precise through ball and powered a shot into the back of the net. Somehow, that shot seemed even more powerful shot than his penalty. Francisco Conceição made a substitute appearance in the second half and marked his return from injury with a goal in the 89th minute. Final score: 3-0!

Juventus Women

Juventus Women had a busy month as the team played seven games across multiple competitions. The first, an away match against Sassuolo in the league, was certainly the most entertaining one. Chiara Beccari opened the scoring for Juventus in the seventh minute but Lana Clelland quickly equalized for Sassuolo.

The Bianconere then took control of the match with three goals in 30 minutes from Cristiana Girelli (penalty), Valentina Bergamaschi, and Sofia Cantore. But the game quickly swung back in Sassuolo’s favor thanks to goals from Samantha Fisher and Valentina Gallazzi. Thankfully, that was the final plot twist of the match as Juventus put the game to bed in the last ten minutes of the game.

Goals from Amalie Vangsgaard and Alisha Lehmann in the 82nd and 86th minute respectively meant that the final score was a whopping 6-3 victory for Juventus!

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Next up was a friendly match against last season’s Champions League runners-up Olympique Lyonnais at the Stade Pierre Rajon in Bourgoin-Jallieu. The French side stormed to four-goal lead in just 35 minutes thanks to goals from Eugenie Le Sommer, Wassa Sangare, Tabitha Chawinga, and Melchie Dumornay. Juventus reduced the deficit when Paulina Krumbiegel volleyed Lindsey Thomas’ cross past Christiane Endler in the Lyon goal. The Bianconere continued the comeback with another goal as Girelli converted from a Beccari cross but that was all that we could manage: 4-2 loss.

From a 4-2 loss to a 4-2 win in the next game, although the team had to work hard for this home victory over Como. Our opponents took a shock lead in the 4th minute thanks to a goal from Zara Kramar. Goals from Arianna Caruso and Hanna Bennison helped Juventus equalize and then quickly take the lead, but a goal from Nadine Nischler meant that the teams went into half time level at 2-2.

The game swung back in our favor when Bergamaschi scored early in the second half to restore her team’s lead. Krumbiegel finished the game off with a late goal to guarantee a 4-2 victory for her team!

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Then came the first of two big shocks in September: a stunning 3-1 victory over French giants Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of a second-round qualifying match (quite the mouthful, that one). Vangsgaard opened the scoring in the 7th minute but Thiniba Samoura equalized for PSG just a few minutes later. Cantore then scored a stunning solo goal to restore the team’s lead and Bennison scored a third on the hour mark to give Juventus a 3-1 lead going into the second leg.

The team continued its winning streak by beating Lazio 2-1 in the league. Eva Schatzer gave Juventus the lead in the 10th minute but Eleonora Goldoni equalized from a fine header after 30 minutes played. Cantore scored her sixth goal in six games in all competitions when she scored the winner in the 84th minute: 2-1!

If you thought the first victory over PSG was a shock then the second victory was a seismic shift. Cantore scored in the second minute of the game, thereby scoring her seventh (!) goal in seven games in all competitions. Romee Leuchter equalized with a penalty in the second half but Bonansea scored from a corner in the 72nd minute to restore her team’s lead. Despite PSG hitting the woodwork, Juve keeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin had little to do and only had to make three saves.

The Bianconere win the fixture 5-2 on aggregate and knocks out last year’s semi-finalists from the competition at the qualifying phase!

Photo by Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

The team wrapped up a phenomenal month with a thumping 4-0 league victory over Fiorentina. Caruso, Vangsgaard, Krumbiegel, and Rosucci scored the goals in this easy victory.

Early thoughts on the Motta era

When September’s slate of matches came to a close, it meant we are now seven games into the Motta era, which means that I have the divine right to jump to wild, premature conclusions about the coach and team’s performances so far. In all seriousness, I think we have enough data to at least share a few early observations about this new Juventus team.

First, there seems to be a greater intent to attack under Motta. While this hasn’t necessarily translated into (many) more goals, we’ve dominated possession in every game we’ve played (except against Roma; 49% in that game). There seem to be more forward passes and passes in the final third, which also signals a greater intent to be on the front foot during games.

Second, this hasn’t come at the expense of our defensive solidity. The only goal conceded so far was a pointless 94th minute consolation goal by Ismael Saibari of PSV Eindhoven.

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Third, it seems that Motta doesn’t quite trust Juan Cabal yet, who admittedly looks a little raw. It’s quite telling that he has chosen to put Andrea Cambiaso at left back, a player who spends the majority of his time in central midfield. In other words, he prefers a player who is a part-time left-back, part-time central midfielder over Juan Cabal, an out-and-out left back.

Fourth, it might be a blessing in disguise that Arkadiusz Milik is injured because it has forced Motta to be more tactically creative. If Vlahovic needs a rest or is out of form, the assumption is/was that Milik (when fit) would replace him. But given his absence due to injury, Motta has been forced to be more creative with a replacement for Vlahovic.

So far, he has tinkered with Nicolás González and Timothy Weah as false nines, with Weah looking a little more comfortable in the role (and the team looking better with him there too). This experiment gives us another tactical option — a Plan B, if you will — for when we face opponents who “figure us out.”

At the end of the day, this beginning phase of the season feels very much like an extension of pre-season. Motta is using this time to figure out his preferred starting XI and his preferred formation, neither of which seem clear at the moment. So far, it’s looking solid with some signs that the team’s true potential is very high.