Juventus 2-0 S.P.A.L.: 3 reasons why the Old Lady secured an easy win at home | Serie A 2019-20
Juventus regained their spot at the top of the Serie A table, albeit temporarily, as Maurizio Sarri's side beat a team from the wrong end of the table in SPAL at the Allianz Stadium.
The last season's champions were relentless in their pursuit of a breakthrough throughout the first half and it was their incessant inflow of shots that finally broke down a resilient and inspired SPAL goalkeeper Etrit Berisha just before the half-time whistle, thanks to another long-range screamer from midfielder Miralem Pjanic.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who was an injury doubt heading into the fixture, started and played a full 90 minutes for the Old Lady and was on target yet again as he took his tally to three goals in five appearances.
Despite missing both of their regular full-backs Juve showed solidarity at the back and did not commit silly errors that had become a concern for them over the past few fixtures. Blaise Matuidi was exceptional in his deputation at the left-back position, while Cuadrado failed to impress.
In all honesty, the home side should've won the game with a better scoreline than 2-0, such was the determination shown by the men going forward, but the opposite No.1 Berisha was not to be defeated and made a series of world-class saves to deny Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala on multiple occasions.
So, with the champions back to winning ways with two wins in two games, we chalk out the three reasons as to why Juventus took home all the three points from the game.
#1 Juventus overwhelmed their opposition with constant attempts in the final third
It is said that quality is better than quantity, but in football, the more chances you create the better the odds of scoring get. Sarri seems to have told his men to apply the same on the field.
As it was quite apparent from the get-go, it was all about attacking for the home side. Even the defenders joined the act and the centre-back duo of Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt spent most of their time in the opposition half and even strolled into the box from time to time to pile on the pressure.
The tactic finally yielded desirable results for Juventus, as, despite all the heroics from Berisha, last match's hero Pjanic curled one shot from just outside the box in the dying minutes of the first half. This was following a poor clearance from the keeper from yet another incoming cross.
In total the team managed a total of 21 shots, of which 10 were on target. It was good to see the team play an aggressive style of football and bodes well for the coming fixtures.