Juventus’ hard-fought 1-1 draw with Napoli yesterday was yet another sign of their attacking woes, which could see them miss out on a Champions League spot.
The Bianconeri picked up 1.3 expected goals in yesterday’s draw with the Partenopei, 0.6 higher than their opponents, and yet they were still forced to share the points at the Allianz Stadium. Massimiliano Allegri’s side sit three points behind 4th place Atalanta, who have a game in hand, and now the chances of seeing them finish outside the top four spots are rising.
Juventus have only scored 28 goals in their first 20 games of the season, less than every other team in the top half of the table except Bologna, who have scored 27. The team do have a decent defence, having only conceded 18 goals, but draws like the one picked up against Napoli yesterday are a sign that a strong defence may not be enough to secure Champions League football.
Allegri recently ruled out a move away for Alvaro Morata, meaning that he’ll still be pointed to in the search for the back of the net. The Spaniard has only scored five goals in the first half of the season, an insufficient amount considering the injuries to talismanic forward Paulo Dybala.
There were certainly concerns in the summer over Juventus’ goal output following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, and now those fears are seemingly being realised. Allegri will have to solve these attacking woes sooner rather than later if he wants to secure that coveted top four finish.