Juventus crashed to a 2-1defeat against Sassuolo in the Italian Serie A earlier tonight.
Goals from Davide Frattesi and Maxime Lopez sealed a vital win for the away side. Weston McKennie scored the only goal for Juventus late on in the second half but it proved to be a consolation in the end.
Here at Anytime football, we look at the three major talking points from tonight’s contest.
Juventus are in desperate need of a quality number nine
The Turin giants started with Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata as their two attackers tonight and they were missing a clinical presence in the final third.
Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Turin giants have been missing a quality finisher.
The Argentine international is a creative forward and Juventus were crying out for someone who can put away the chances. Dybala did well to create the only goal for Juventus tonight but Alvaro Morata struggled to provide the finishing touch in the final third.
Absence of Chiellini
The Italian international was dropped for tonight’s game and Juventus struggled at the back without him.
The likes of Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs De Ligt struggled to strike up a quality defensive partnership and Sassuolo found it easy to break them down.
Chiellini has been one of the best defenders across Europe for a number of years and Juventus were vulnerable at the back in the absence of the Italian international.
Domenico Berardi – the star of the show
The Sassuolo forward has been in inspired form this year and he was outstanding for Italy during the European Championships.
It seems that the wide forward has carried that form into the domestic season as well.
Berardi created the 94th-minute winner for his side and he harassed the Juventus defence with his pace and flair throughout the game.
The 27 year old Italian international was arguably the most effective player on the pitch and Juventus struggled to deal with him throughout the game.
