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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.
#2 The Juventus midfielder put on a show
Maurizio Sarri likes to have a midfield general in his side, as seen in his stint with Chelsea where he brought in Jorginho, despite having one of the best defensive midfielders in the world in N'Golo Kante at his disposal.
Though he has not yet found that kind of a player at Juventus yet, it seems his ideal midfield is beginning to take shape. With Aaron Ramsey, Adrien Rabiot, Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanic making it tick in the center of the pitch.
Ramsey was again brilliant, especially when going forward and even almost grabbed his second goal in three games, before Berisha produced an unbelievable save from point blank range.
Rabiot still has a lot of room to improve, but maintained good positioning and had a precise man-marking throughout the game. Khedira was effective as usual in a defensive midfield role.
Though the real hero in the midfield was Pjanic, who gave Juventus the lead at a perfect moment just before half-time. His movement and passes were top drawer and the finish which he made look so easy, give us an idea why he is so highly rated.
#3 Ronaldo and Dybala showed that they can play together in a fluid system
Though Juventus' #10 Paulo Dybala is yet to find the back of the net in four appearances in the Italian top-flight, today's performance was his best this season. He got the assist for Ronaldo's goal from the left flank, despite starting on the right, which signals towards maturity in his style of play and good understanding with the Portuguese as a striker partner.
The Argentine was impressive throughout the game and even had the first real chance at goal in the 35th minute, but was denied by Berisha.
Ronaldo was full of skills and tricks to leave the defenders baffled and generated a lot of chances, including two brilliant headed efforts from Ramsey and Khedira in either half.
As we move further in the season, Juventus are going to need a stable partnership ahead. Whether it will be like Liverpool's three-man attack with Higuain, Dybala and Ronaldo taking up the suitable roles or the traditional two man system, pairing Ronaldo with either Dybala or Higuain, that remains to be seen.
