5 Juventus players who have improved under Andrea Pirlo
Juventus endured a largely indifferent start to life under new manager Andrea Pirlo before experiencing improved fortunes in various competitions.
Thanks to Andrea Pirlo's tactical nous, Juventus won at Barcelona to secure top spot in their UEFA Champions League group before flooring runaway Serie A leaders, AC Milan, to get back in the title race.
Five Juventus players who have shown improvement under Andrea Pirlo
Despite assuming the reins at Juventus with no prior experience in management, Andrea Pirlo has done a fairly decent job in terms of elevating the games of a few players.
On that note, let us have a look at five such Juventus players who have improved under the tutelage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup winner.
#5 Alvaro Morata
Alvaro Morata has arguably produced one of his best starts to a season after arriving at Juventus over the summer.
After scoring seven goals and assisting as many in his last Serie A campaign in 2015-16, Morata (four goals and six assists) is already on course to better that tally.
The Spain international has complemented the efforts of Cristiano Ronaldo (more on him later), despite Juventus enduring a rather up-and-down campaign.
Morata has even managed to outshine his more illustrious teammate in the Champions League, where he has scored six goals. Of course, that doesn't include his 'hat-trick' of strikes overruled by VAR in Juventus' 2-0 home defeat to Barcelona.
In 20 games in all competitions, the 28-year-old has managed 19 goal-contributions (11 goals and eight assists) to become a key player in Andrea Pirlo's team.
Although the Juventus manager was 'angry' with Morata's incredible miss against Atalanta - a back-heel that sailed wide of an unguarded goal - Pirlo believes the striker can become one of the best in the world, saying in this regard:
“Morata is a strong player, but he just needed consistency and confidence. If he’s good mentally then he can do anything, he can become one of the best strikers around. If he trains well and is in good shape, playing and scoring, he’s a fundamental player not just for Juventus but also for his national team. We are working to put him in the best condition possible.”
#4 Federico Chiesa
After making a slow start to life at Juventus following his arrival in October last year, Federico Chiesa has begun to get into his stride.
The 23-year-old midfielder, who has netted four goals and provided as many assists in 13 league games, recently scored in back-to-back Serie A games for the first time since arriving at Juventus.
Andrea Pirlo spoke highly of Chiesa, who scored a brace in Juventus' 3-1 win against league leaders AC Milan, saying in this regard:
"He's doing well. It's not easy to be catapulted from Fiorentina to Juventus, but he's a very good lad. It took him time to adapt, but now he's growing after arriving with so much controversy and weight on him."