😱 Juve lack a striker: Openda invisible 👻, David horror, Vlahovic... | OneFootball

After weeks in which Juventus was described as a crazy team due to their 4-3 win against Inter and the immediate 4-4 draw against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, Igor Tudor's team has rediscovered its sterility in attack.

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In the 0-0 draw against Milan, they managed just 3 shots on goal: 2 from Federico Gatti, now a regular striker following his overhead kick at Villarreal, and the other rather ambitious shot from Andrea Cambiaso. The forwards, as well as the attacking midfielders, were nowhere to be found.

So far, Jonathan David, who made a rare clumsy error from a few meters in yesterday's match, has only scored once. Lois Openda is worse off with zero goals, while Dusan Vlahovic with his 4 goals and an assist (plus a goal for Serbia) is in the best form but continues to be used sparingly.

David, who has only scored in his debut against Parma in 388 minutes, has been playing more. The comparison with Vlahovic's 255' full of goals and decisive plays is merciless. Openda, at the moment, does not seem to have the characteristics of the striker that Tudor needs.

What emerges after the first 8 games, however, goes beyond the objective difficulty of identifying the right reference point for the role of central striker. Besides Kenan Yildiz and Francisco Conceicao, the only one with at least 2 goals is a defender like Lloyd Kelly. The Bianconeri team, in fact, often relies on its excellent individualities as well as its height on set pieces.

A collective maneuver that can favor the work of the forwards is lacking and is a fact that contrasts with Tudor's career, who has always been skilled in getting his teams to the goal area many times to enhance the most different strikers. The data on the balls touched against Milan is the emblematic example and the alarm bell.

On one hand, the game does not favor the offensive terminals, on the other hand, the choices do not help either. So far, there has never been a feeling that the starting player was in the best form. Vlahovic's contractual situation is greatly complicating matters. David was brought in to fill his absence, but the Serbian's stay instead overshadows him.

In the final part of the match against Milan, the two forwards were also seen, which could be an option to give more confidence to the players and more solutions to the team. At the moment, according to Tudor, it is however a valid option more for the end of the match than as a tactical variant from the 1'. Strong and decisive choices will be needed to get out of the impasse: the numbers suggest Vlahovic, but off-field factors could influence.

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

📸 ISABELLA BONOTTO - AFP or licensors