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Juventus suffered just their second defeat in Serie A 2020-21 at the Allianz Stadium tonight as a well-drilled Benevento recorded a narrow 1-0 win against the wasteful hosts.
Adolfo Gaich scored the only goal of the game, thanks to a defensive howler from Arthur, who cluelessly kicked the ball into no man's land near the Juventus box which was chased down well by the on-loan CSKA Moscow striker.
Benevento managed to keep Juventus quiet for the first 45 minutes, who did not register their first shot on goal till the 33rd minute. Gli Stregoni had four shots in the first half but not even a single one was on target.
Cristiano Ronaldo's low-driven effort in the third minute breezed past the far post and he did not contribute much to the attack after that. Alvaro Morata came closest to opening the scoring but his shot was saved well by Lorenzo Montipò.
The visitors held their own very well before the break and did not allow Juventus to get into their groove despite the hosts having 72% possession in the first half.
The second half kicked off similarly, with the hosts dominating possession and the visitors relying on quick counters.
Juventus struggled to convert their chances and were punished in the 69th minute when the visitors capitalised on Arthur's stray pass. Gaich scored a remarkable goal from the edge of the box to give the visitors a well-deserved lead.
The hosts reacted with increased intensity but lacked the final touch in front of goal. By the final whistle they had managed 21 shots with seven of them on target, but thanks to Montipò's sharp reflexes they could not find the back of the net.
Bianconeri's hopes of securing a 10th straight Serie A title suffered another blow tonight and they are now 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan with 11 games to go in the league.
#5 Federico Bernardeschi struggled to fit in at left-back
Juventus headed into the game with two of their main full-backs available. Juan Cuadrado was suspended, while left-back Alex Sandro was rested after picking up a muscle strain.
This forced Andrea Pirlo to play Federico Bernardeschi at left-back. The winger is suited to playing in the final third and when tasked with defensive duties tonight, he struggled to make timely tackles and interceptions.
Though his contribution in the final third was appreciable, he proved to be the weak link in the four-man defence, which Benevento exploited from time to time.
#4 Juventus need a set-piece specialist
Juventus have found it difficult to generate goal-scoring chances from set-piece situations this season. Tonight, Leonardo Bonucci's headed effort from a corner kick in the first half was saved marvellously, while Ronaldo hit the wall again from a promising position.
Despite having as many as nine corners in the game, their only shot on target was Bonucci's first-half effort. Pirlo himself conceded earlier this month that set-pieces play an important role against hard-to-break defences and assured that Ronaldo is working on his free-kicks in training.
“Free-kick goals are important, they can decide games, especially against teams that sit deep.
“Ronaldo is training well and is improving. He is more serene and he is convinced he is soon going to score from a free kick.”
Well, as we saw in the game tonight with Paulo Dybala absent, there were no in-form dead-ball specialist sin the squad for the hosts. The inability to make corners and free-kicks count is hurting them a lot this season and that is something that needs to be worked out soon by Pirlo.
Also See: 10 highest-paid players in the Serie A this season (2020/21)
#3 Juventus lacked creativity in the middle of the park
Despite having had more than 70% of possession for the majority of the game, Juventus didn't have much to show for their domination. A no-nonsense defensive performance by Benevento and poor passes in the final third by the midfielders meant that Ronaldo and Morata were starved for service in the box and real chances came few and far between for the hosts.
The midfielders lacked vision tonight and most of their passes were directed backwards or were lateral passes.
Morata leads the assists chart in the league with eight this season while Cuadrado is second with seven. The midfielders have not been actively involved in goal creation this term and that has seen the reigning champions rely heavily on their front three for goals.
#2 Lorenzo Montipò puts in a man-of-the-match performance
Lorenzo Montipo put in an inspired display between the sticks tonight and guided his team to a historic win. The Italian goalkeeper made as many as seven saves in the game tonight and stood strong against the late onslaught when the shots kept coming.
All of his saves were equally crucial but a couple of good reflex saves in the first half inspired his teammates to work even harder and not let the Turin giants gain control over the proceedings tonight.
His save from close range when Ronaldo unleashed a shot from a narrow-angle in the 79th minute summed up his importance on the pitch tonight, and if not for his heroics, the Old Lady would've recorded a fourth straight win in the league tonight.
#1 Benevento record a well deserved first-ever win over Juventus
The visitors returned to winning ways in grand fashion with an impressive win over the reigning champions tonight. This was the first win for Filippo Inzaghi's men in 12 games and they deserved to take home all three points from the game.
The visitors had just 26% possession by the final whistle and scored from their only shot on target. It was their grit that got them the win over the mighty Juventus.
This is just the second top-flight season in their history and they were able to get the better of a club who've won the Serie A nine times in a row for the first time. These three points will go a long way in helping them secure their top-flight status, but this defeat has further dented Juve's hopes of lifting the Scudetto for the 10th time in a row.
Also See: The 10 highest-paid goalkeepers in the world
