⛔ Juve winless in 4, record nears: Koopmeiners and David linked?⚠️ | OneFootball

Yet another draw for Juventus, who were caught in the 90th minute by former player Renato Veiga of Villarreal in the Champions League, highlighting several issues with management and character.

This is the fourth consecutive draw for the Bianconeri: between the 4-4 against Borussia Dortmund and last night's 2-2 with Villarreal, there were also two "X"s against Hellas Verona and Atalanta in Serie A.

What is at the root of this "draw-itis"?

And in history?

It’s not unprecedented for Juventus to draw 4 matches in a row: it already happened, still under the management of Thiago Motta, between November and December 2024, with matches against Milan, Aston Villa, Lecce, and Bologna all ending in a tie.

Previously, the last case of 4 consecutive draws came in March 2012 (Milan, Chievo, Bologna, and Genoa) and before that in April 2009 (Reggina, Lecce, Milan, and Atalanta, coming off two other winless games, a draw with Inter and a loss against Lazio).

If Juventus were to draw the next match against Milan, it would be the longest streak of draws since Calciopoli, while if they fail to win against Como as well, they would match the streak of six matches without a win in May 2024 (draws with Torino, Cagliari, Milan, Roma, Salernitana, and a loss against Lazio).

Shaky defense

What Juventus has certainly shown in these games is some defensive issues that need to be addressed: the four goals conceded against Dortmund (just days after conceding three against Inter) prove this, and last night's performance confirms it.

Partly due to Cabal’s condition, which is clearly not yet optimal, Juventus immediately showed great vulnerabilities in defense, proving permeable to the speed of Villarreal’s attacks.

Before Mikautadze struck, Pépé had already sown panic on a couple of occasions in the Bianconeri’s backline, and even after the goal, throughout the first half, the goal defended by Perin looked anything but unbreachable.

Poor game management

There is also a problem related to game management: Juventus were caught in the 90th minute by a Renato Veiga header that caught Perin unprepared.

And to think that a great fifteen minutes at the start of the second half, with the contribution of Francisco Conceicao, who had just come on and was immediately decisive, was enough to turn the match around.

Sure, in the final minutes Villarreal were relentless in search of a draw, but their attack seemed more frantic and desperate than organized: yet it was enough to snatch the result from the Bianconeri.

This issue was also highlighted by Manuel Locatelli in the immediate post-match interview against Villarreal: "Managing key moments is something we lack and need to learn. We need more balance, because if you don’t have it, sooner or later you concede a goal. Balance is also needed to manage moments, and these matches are decided precisely by those details," said the Bianconeri captain.

Koop and David, open cases?

There are also several question marks over some players: the main suspect is obviously Teun Koopmeiners, who has experienced an incredible decline since joining the Bianconeri from Atalanta.

He was once again ineffective last night despite several positional changes, and the lack of his contribution was particularly evident when Conceicao came on in his place at halftime.

Jonathan David is also still missing; apart from the goal against Parma, he has not managed to score for the Bianconeri, so much so that on more than one occasion his starting spot has been questioned in favor of the more decisive Vlahovic.

Against Villarreal, the Canadian wasted a 0.72 xG chance, later being denied by the crossbar.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 JOSE JORDAN - AFP or licensors