Juventus avoided Barcelona’s error in their Europa League match against Freiburg on Thursday, but fans left the Allianz Stadium with mixed feelings after Angel Di Maria’s winner and Federico Chiesa’s new injury, writes Lorenzo Bettoni in Turin.
It was minute 81 when Chiesa bent over, touching his right knee and looking towards his teammate Leonardo Bonucci. The Italian winger had been introduced barely 15 minutes earlier by Massimiliano Allegri who stared at the scene, hoping his star striker hadn’t suffered a new injury, barely a year after his ACL tear against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
The Bianconeri boss looked worried, but the rest of the stadium was petrified. They’ve been waiting for the return of their idol for almost one year and have seen him start only four times this season.
Chiesa received attention from Juventus’ medical staff and returned to the pitch pretty quickly but was unable to run. Having finished his three slots for substitutions, Allegri could not replace him, so Chiesa remained on the pitch, but his teammates didn’t even pass him the ball, knowing he could not contribute. For this reason, Moise Kean was sent down the left flank to help the team defensively, while Chiesa remained alone up front, hoping to hear the final whistle soon.
The Italian winger also looked worried. After the match, he immediately headed to the tunnel where, Allegri said, he was picked for the routine anti-doping checks. “I didn’t even see him [after the final whistle] said the Italian tactician in his post-match press conference. We’ll see what he has tomorrow [today]. Hopefully it’s nothing bad.”
The dream of Juventus fans was to enjoy an attacking trident with Chiesa, Di Maria and Dusan Vlahovic, but they started all together just once this season.
El Fideo is undoubtedly the most talented player in the team and is proving so in Juventus’ European outings this term. His winner against Salzburg was his seventh goal contribution in six European matches with the Old Lady.
It was not a house speciality, the Argentinean hasn’t scored many headers in his career, but the rest of the match was dotted with the exciting technical and dribbling skills that have made him one of the best players of his generation.
Having signed a one-year deal last summer, many Juventus fans had doubts about Di Maria’s commitment at the beginning of the season, thinking that he would only use his brief spell in Turin to keep fit ahead of Qatar 2022. El Fideo was struggling with injuries in the first part of the campaign and was given a straight red card in an away defeat against Monza for a reaction foul on Armando Izzo.
He also infuriated Juventus fans when he returned from the World Cup just two days before the first Serie A match of 2023, but the contribution he’s given to the Bianconeri over the course of the year has been nothing short of impressive.
José Mourinho says that the ‘music is different’ when Paulo Dybala plays for Roma. The same applies to his compatriot in Turin, who arrived in town to replace La Joya.
Di Maria also left Juventus fans worried as he left the pitch touching his abductor and, along with Chiesa, he will undergo medical examinations on Friday morning.
The other member of Juventus ‘virtual attacking trio’, Vlahovic, didn’t suffer an injury, but by the looks of it the Serbian striker has other problems troubling him.
He is Juventus’ best scorer this season, with 10 goals in 25 appearances across all competitions, but he’s been nowhere near his Fiorentina standards since his move to Turin a year ago. He had scored 17 goals in 21 games for the Tuscans before his move to Juventus, but in Turin, Vlahovic only managed 19 goals in 46 appearances and hasn’t scored in any of the last six appearances across all competitions for the Serie A giants.
A striker is never happy when he doesn’t score, but this is somehow more obvious by looking at Vlahovic’s face. Even Allegri is aware of that.
“I am happy because he feels better physically,” said the coach in his post-match presser. “He must remain calm because maybe he can score on Sunday. That’s what happens with strikers.”
Juventus fans know their striker is unsettled and tried to cheer him up with a few chants on Thursday night, but the feeling is that only sending the ball into the back of the net will make the 23-year-old smile again.
Despite different issues, Juventus have managed to start the Europa League Round of 16 off on the right foot with a 1-0 win in Turin. Life in Germany next week will be more complicated as Freiburg fans will provide a vital push to their lads in the return fixture next week.
Over 2.000 of them turned up to Turin last night and never stopped singing, not even after the final whistle. There would have been even more if Juventus had not voided tickets purchased by away fans in the Allianz Stadium’s home sections earlier this week.
UEFA does not permit home and away supporters to mix in the stands in any of its competitions and Juventus cancelled, and refunded, entrances bought by German fans after they had acquired the club’s membership.
Barcelona did not do the same last season but paid the consequences by seeing 30.000 German fans arrive from Germany in the home stands and providing vital help off the pitch in the second leg of last season’s Europa League quarter-finals at Camp Nou.
Juventus eliminated the problem before it even began but will have to deal with other injury-related issues over the last few days and with the upcoming Serie A fixture against Sampdoria just around the corner.