Juventus 2-1 Lokomotiv Moscow: 3 Reasons why the Bianconeri clinched a comeback win

A late rush of two goals in two minutes from the Argentine Paulo Dybala handed Juventus a pivotal win over Lokomotiv Moscow in Turin. The win puts them level on points with Atletico Madrid, but ahead of the Spanish side on goal difference.

The entire game can be described in perhaps just one line - Juventus attacked and the visitors defended resolutely. Apart from a few minutes, that line would be true for most of the game.

Juventus conceded from possibly Lokomotiv's only real chance of the game coming from a counter-attack that saw Aleksey Miranchuk score after Joao Mario's shot was parried by Wojciech Szczesny into his path. The Old Lady then began to chase the game almost relentlessly, but Lokomotiv kept them at bay for as long as possible.

It was beginning to look like they would hold out to the end when Dybala struck twice to sink any hopes they had before that.

#1 Magical minutes from Paulo Dybala

Paulo Dybala made all the difference for Juventus against Lokomotiv Moscow

The hosts struggled to create many clear cut chances in the game but with the introduction of Gonzalo Higuain at half-time, Dybala switched to a deeper position that allowed him to become more involved with play.

As the game progressed he started to find little pockets of space and began to threaten the Lokomotiv defensive unit. The highlight came in the two minutes between the 77th and 79th where Dybala scored a scorcher from outside the box to bring his team level and scored his second following up on a shot taken from distance by Alex Sandro and parried into his path by the goalkeeper.

They were both sublime finishes in different ways, but for the first time in a long time, Dybala has shown his ability to take a game by the scruff of its neck and drag his team across the line.

#2 Resolute but fatigued Lokomotiv

Lokomotiv Moscow were disciplined but their focus predictably dipped towards the end of the game

Having scored surprisingly in the first half and defended that lead for most of the game, Lokomotiv Moscow were just about starting to believe that they could honestly take something away from the game in Turin. Nonetheless, Juventus had different ideas.

The visitors were able to smother Juventus' attacks and prevent them from creating too many gilt-edged chances during the 90 minutes, but unfortunately for them, Juventus were able to conjure up some magic on the night to punish them.

Dybala's brace came at a crucial juncture towards the end of the game as the Lokomotiv midfield started to tire while their will and physical ability to keep closing down Juventus midfielders dwindled. It's a difficult result for the visitors to accept because they hardly put a foot wrong and any criticism of them would be harsh. They just came up against a side that found a way to beat them without getting out of second gear.

#3 Substitutions and switch in attacking tactics

Higuain's introduction saw him create more space between midfield and defence for the midfielders to run into

For most of the game, the Bianconeri attacked from the right flank. The makeshift right-back Juan Cuadrado proved to be an effective outlet on the right and often skipped past his opponent on the flank to deliver crosses in. When he wasn't able to do that, he floated in balls from deep to try and find runs at the far post.

For most of the game, Juventus followed this pattern of attack, but once Maurizio Sarri made changes following half-time introducing both Gonzalo Higuain and Adrien Rabiot to the fray, the focus shifted for the home team. Their attacks started to have a more central or left-sided focus.

For a defence that had faced something entirely right-heavy for so much of the game, the shift was disorienting and Juve's planned change worked just as they had hoped it would and Dybala was there to take advantage, putting them top of the group (by goal difference) with this narrow win.