Juventus needed a win on Sunday against Napoli. There's no two ways around that. That the Partenopei were equally desperate after their own early-season struggles made for a great storyline coming into the match.
Coming out of the match, there was really only one storyline — or maybe two. They involved Kerim Alajbegovic and Jérémie Boga, and the wonder goals the two scored in the last 20 minutes to inject life into what had been a relatively drab match and bring home all three points for the Bianconeri. It wasn't the very best of performances, but it was also a well-deserved win. After a shaky start in the first half, Juve dominated the second, smothering Napoli and preventing them from posing any sort of attacking threat.
The 2-0 victory was a nice present on the club's 129th birthday, and will hopefully be something to build on as the season moves forward. How did the players make out on the day? Let's take a closer look.
GUGLIELMO VICARIO – 7.Only had one save to make on the day, but it was a big one, denying Lorenzo Lucca in the eighth minute with a fantastic one-handed stop to his right. He also made a great play early in the second half to clean up a really bad misplay. I've been less than impressed with him a lot this season, but this game was excellent.
PIERRE KALULU – 6.Made two interceptions and three clearances, and added a key pass going forward. Looked a little bit better than we've seen in recent contests.
BREMER – 6.Let Lucca get around him on that early header but was otherwise excellent, notching four clearances and not letting the striker get any space.
JHON LUCUMI – 5.5.Led the team with five clearances but was a little shaky in possession every once in a while. He was also a little cavalier while playing under caution in the first half, although he got better after a lucky escape not look after he was first booked in the 20th minute.
JUAN CABAL – 6.5.Who had Juan Cabal playing one of Juve's better games of the season out on the left flank on your bingo cards? All of you raising your hands are damn, dirty liars. Jokes aside, Cabal was pretty darn great today, co-leading the team with two tackles, adding in two key passes on the attack, hitting the post with a header off a corner, and drawing Luca Marianucci into his second yellow card. Hopefully it was just cramp that pushed him off the field late.
WESTON McKENNIE – 6.Had a pair of key passes and ran like usual, but his grade is dragged down due to only completing 60 percent of his passes. Came off with an adductor issue that we have to hope isn't going to keep him out long.
DOUGLAS LUIZ – 7.Made five key passes and added in three clearances and two interceptions defensively. That was especially impressive because he was playing with a yellow card from the 16th minute.
TEUN KOOPMEINERS – 5.5.Made a pair of tackles but wasn't much of a contributor going forward. He felt like he was constantly just a little bit off with every ball he played.
KERIM ALAJBEGOVIC – 7.I hope he didn't ask to be subbed because of anything substantial, because this guy had a fantastic match. He took on his defenders with abandon, leading the club with three dribbles, and oh my word that goal. It's going to be a goal of the year contender for sure. This is the kid Juve need to lean on until some of their players return from injury.
RANDAL KOLO MUANI – 4.5.Nothing went right for him today. He'd make the wrong run, or the right run and then completely screw up his ball. Alajbegovic should've scored almost 20 minutes earlier but Kolo Muani's pass to him was woefully inaccurate. If he doesn't pick up his performances soon, the returning Jeff Ekhator is going to start siphoning off his minutes.
NICK WOLTEMADE – 5.5.Definitely needs to produce more in front of goal, but he had some valuable moments holding the ball up and distributing it forward. It was his holdup and turn that gave Marianucci his first yellow card. That said, no shots at all is still a bad look.
FEDERICO GATTI – 6.Looked like he was playing midfield at times, and ultimately held things down well in place of McKennie.
EDON ZHEGROVA – 6.5.Co-led the team with three dribbles, including a gorgeous move to remove Olivera from the equation before laying the ball across to Alajbegovic for an assist.
JÉRÉMIE BOGA – 7.Had defenders on skates from the moment he came on, and his goal was just as gorgeous as Alajbegovic's. Also had two tackles in 18 minutes.
LLOYD KELLY – 6.Perfectly adequate coming in to keep Lucumí safe from a potential second booking, although he didn't have a ton of defending to do once Napoli went down a man.
ANDREA CAMBIASO – NR.Got the simplest assist of his life on Boga's goal, and totaled two key passes in nine minutes.
There was a lot look at tactically in this match. Spalletti's lineup was originally reported as a 4-3-2-1 (much to my delight, as it's my favorite formation) but clearly functioned as a 4-4-2 during the first half. The second half, when Gatti came on for an injured McKennie, was a much different beast. Stat services listed it as a 3-4-2-1, but there were times when Kalulu and/or Gatti were almost playing in midfield, and it was so amorphous as to be almost impossible to decipher.
Spalletti was coming into the game with serious questions about his ability to lead this squad after Wednesday's debacle at the Marassi, and if there was anything to be said about this match its that he still has at least some sway in the locker room. After a lackluster first half, Juve looked visibly energized in the second half and completely overran Napoli from the opening whistle of the second period on. I highly doubt there were any players-only meetings going on in there, so Spalletti absolutely deserves credit for whatever it was he said at the break, because it sent his players out there in a much better state than they were when they went in.
Now, of course, the focus needs to be on carrying this momentum forward. We've all seen these Brigadoon games before, where it looks like there's something there for Juve to carry forward only for it all to disappear by the time they take the field for their next game. If the season is to be salvaged here, Juve need to take what it got here and run with it.
Two games remain before the second international break. On Thursday, Juve visit AZ Alkmaar in a Pot 1 Europa League matchup, then they head to the always-hostile environment of Florence to take on Fiorentina.
