Juventus Faces Another Stinging Defeat in Florence
By Massimiliano Nerozzi, Firenze
Juventus plunged once more into the depths of despair at the Franchi, succumbing to a humiliating 3-0 defeat against Fiorentina, a continuation of last week’s 4-0 drubbing against Atalanta. Post-match, Giuntoli stood by Thiago Motta, insisting, “We’ll pull through together.”
In more daze than a dancer left behind after the ceilidh, Juventus has dropped to fifth place in the standings, now trailing Bologna. “These are two painful losses,” said Thiago Motta. “It’s a continuation of our recent performances. Once, we were the strongest defensive side in the league, but now neither our defence nor our attack resembles that. We must regain our confidence.”
Cristiano Giuntoli reaffirmed the aim of achieving Champions League qualification, stating, “It’s still achievable.” He added, “We need to stick together; we’ve not witnessed such back-to-back underwhelming performances in quite some time. We’re very disappointed, but we believe we can rise above this.”
Despite the national team break allowing for some soul-searching, the shared mantra among the squad remains one of unity. Thiago commented, “I believe I’m the right person to lead us through this, starting with the next fixture against Genoa.” Meanwhile, Michele Di Gregorio echoed that sentiment: “We follow the manager’s lead; now it’s crucial that we all work closely together.”
The scene at the Franchi was nothing short of catastrophic. “We deserve credit for our display,” claimed Raffaele Palladino, whose side caught Juventus entirely off guard. “They looked lacking in confidence and cohesion.” Despite controlling 75 percent of possession and completing 263 passes to Fiorentina’s 87, Juventus saw their hopes dashed under the weight of two early goals.
The writing was on the wall well before the final whistle; dominating possession yielded little but lethargy, with a lack of incisiveness evident in their attacking play. With no defensive organisation to speak of, the first Viola attack led to a corner and a goal. The second was a hasty counter-attack, with Juventus caught napping.
As the song from the Viola faithful rang out, “Where is Dusan Vlahovic?” the home fans expressed their scorn, a fair query given the performance. Replacements like Alberto Costa and Cambiaso felt more like desperation than strategy. Juventus found themselves in a position resembling resignation more than mere defeat.
Resource: Corriere
