Juventus 2 – Pafos FC 0: Initial reaction and random observations

For the second consecutive outing in the Champions League, Juventus put forward an opening 45 minutes that just about everybody would have liked to forget on Wednesday night in Turin. The reaction of those who root for the Bianconeri was as you’d expect when halftime arrived, too, with the full realization that something desperately needed to change if Juve wanted to actually come away with three incredibly important points.

Just like they did in the Arctic Circle, Juve came alive in the second half once again in Europe.

This time, though, there wasn’t any late-game heroics needed to actually secure those three points — which was a pretty nice change from what happened just a couple of weeks earlier.

Thanks to what was likely a bit of a one-sided conversation from Luciano Spalletti at the half, Juventus came out of the break looking very much the improved side they needed to be to try and make it back-to-back wins in the Champions League over very beatable yet pesky opposition. Just like against Bodø/Glimt, that improved second half resulted in Juve actually looking like the better side as compared to what happened in the opening 45 minutes. With the two CONCACAF boys, American midfielder jack-of-all-trades Weston McKennie and Canadian striker Jonathan David, providing the long-awaited breakthrough within five minutes of one another that put Juventus in front once and for all, the Bianconeri claimed a 2-0 win over Pafos FC to continue their ascent up the UCL league phase table.

No, seriously. Look at this:

Juventus entered the night in 23rd place, with Pafos right behind them in the final play-off spot.

With Wednesday night’s results now completely over and done with, Juve have moved up to 17th — nearly 10 spots higher than they were just two matchdays ago. And who’s all of one point and two table spots ahead of them? That would be Barcelona. Who’s also on 10 points a couple more spots up the table? Chelsea.

What’s all of three points away? The automatic qualification spots that come with being in the top eight.

OK, so maybe that last part is a little too much to think about right now. But Juventus snapping out of their second straight first-half funk in Europe and looking like a functional squad once again after halftime has now resulted in them getting two precious wins and moving up in the table at a time in which they really are facing must-win situations. If the magic number for securing a spot in the play-off round is around 11 or 12 points, then one more win against either Benfica or Monaco should do just that. (But then again, those will be two clubs absolutely fighting for their Champions League lives when they line up against Juventus come the new year.)

The problem was that for a large portion of this game, Juventus looked completely out of sorts. Or, the issues that we probably expected them to have against a team like Pafos that loves to absorb pressure and then try and hammer you on the counter were very much present. The worst part of it was that Pafos, the team that entered the night having surrendered the second-highest amount of shots in the league phase thus far, was actually outshooting Juventus. And that’s not some wonky kind of small sample size five minutes into the game, either. This was well into the first half when it was pretty clear that Juve just needed to survive until halftime without giving up a goal and then try and regroup.

They thankfully did both of those.

And for the first time in the Champions League this season, Juve were actually able to play with the lead rather than chase a game because they were behind on the scoreboard.

Funny how that works, huh?

Juventus were much more on the front foot in the second half, they created more and, of course, they actually made Pafos pay for the pressure that they were creating. For so much of the first half you saw the ball moving around slowly, players not moving all that much while the ball was out wide and things just looking completely static overall. It was something Spalletti had to hammer home at the half — and clearly something that improved as the second half went on as the Pafos defense that had absorbed so much pressure finally started to crack.

It helped that McKennie had what felt like an elbow jumper in basketball and pretty much turned a relatively nondescript movement in the box into the opening goal that actually allowed Juventus to get in front.

And, unlike against Bodø/Glimt, there wasn’t any sort of madness that forced a David goal to suddenly be the thing that decided it. They didn’t have to scramble to get three points. They could actually play with a lead for a change — which is something that they’ve rarely had in their favor in the Champions League this season.

So now Juve can head into their final two UCL league phase games and control their own destiny when it comes to the play-off round and getting their best possible seeding. Thinking beyond that might be a little too much for now, but getting two straight wins in Europe has certainly turned things for the better as compared to how things were looking at the midway point of the league phase last month.

RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

• Two wins within a little more than 24 hours for the two Juventus senior squads in Europe? Yeah, I’ll take that.
• But, my god, can Juventus please start the games against Benfica and Monaco a little better? Watching these slogs of a first half continue to be the wrong kind of way to go about things.
• But hey, it was nice for the ultras to actually show up and back the squad in the second half. Maybe they should do that more often considering the extremely talented No. 10 at Juve said they need the fans’ support to try and get out of this whole situation.
• Can I just mention how great of a counterattack that was on David’s goal? It was quick, it was aggressive, Kenan Yildiz’s ball to David was on the money and David’s finish was nice to see after his struggles earlier in the game. That’s something you’d love to see more of from all involved going forward.
• David in the first half: 14 touches, three times dispossessed, one incredibly big chance missed.
• I mean, if you want to see a scoring chance that sums up David’s time at Juventus thus far, feels like that one he completed flubbed late in the first half is pretty much the best representation of that.
• Teun Koopmeiners was Juve’s highest-rated player on Sofascore in the first half. It definitely wasn’t because of his defending. Just like against Napoli, it comes as a shock to you that he was beaten for pace more than just a couple of times. Not great!
• Update: Koopmeiners was much better in the second half as Spalletti moved him into more of a midfield role. That worked out well. Well done, Teun.
• Not exactly the first start for Juventus that Edon Zhegrova was hoping for. Then again, when you hadn’t started a game in a year (minus four days), you can understand why he’d be pressing a little too much. Yes, even somebody as chill as Zhegrova can do that, too.
• So how would you rate Dusan Vlahovic’s outfit? I feel like that’s a good look for him!

• His legal name is Jair Diego Alves de Brito, but his friends just call him Jajá. He’s a backup midfielder for Pafos and has a really cool name.
• Spalletti wasn’t lying when he said Pafos’ roster is full of Brazilian and Portuguese players. Those were some wonderful names to see on the team sheet!
• David Luiz is basically my age and still playing in the Champions League. Didn’t have that one.
• Michele Di Gregorio gave us a bit of a scare with the ball at his feet late in this game, but he made a couple of big-time saves in the first half to keep Pafos off the scoreboard. If either of those shots go in, it’s a completely different kind of game — especially with Juve having to chase things once again.
• Just another European outing in which Wes McKennie scores an important goal. The man just delivers.
• Seriously, he was almost posting up right inside of the penalty area, put a little move on the guy marking him and unleashed a rocket of a shot into the top corner. Not bad, Wes, not bad at all.
• Wanna guess who was Juve’s leader in key passes? Yeah, it was Kenan Yildiz. That’s not a surprise.
• Who was second? That would be McKennie. And Fabio Miretti.
• Some of the tackles Manuel Locatelli put in during Juve’s early second-half showing were immense. Say what you want about the guy, but he sure does contribute defensively.
• Also, that yellow card that Locatelli was shown … yeah, that was hot garbage. There’s no way that should have been a yellow — at all.
• Solid game from Lloyd Kelly. Just don’t mention the wide-open header he missed.
• All those missed chances in the first half really came to bite Pafos in the backside, didn’t they?
• And all that struggle in the first half and then you look at the final shot count and Juve’s up 25-12.
• Juve finishing with 2.56 xG? In this economy?
• Give Yildiz a standing ovation every time he walks off the field. He deserves it.
• I’m just glad this team won, man. It was not looking good at all, but thankfully that second half happened. Insert that cliché of “It’s a game of two halves!!” right here because it feels appropriate again.