Genoa – Four challenges in four areas of the pitch. Eight footballers who with their numbers can shift the balance and decide the match. Genoa against Juventus at Marassi always sells dearly. Often it is the talent of an individual that makes the difference and tomorrow evening at Ferraris there will be many quality players on the pitch. In both teams.
Although the seasonal goals are different – with the Genoa who seeks points to earn salvation as soon as possible while the Juventus is already involved in a head-to-head battle for the Scudetto with Inter – without goals you're going nowhere and both the rossoblù and bianconeri rely on their attackers. And Mateo Retegui and Dusan Vlahovic are true, modern number 9s who, in addition to scoring goals, know how to play together with their teammates and sacrifice themselves when there is pressure on their opponents. Of the two, the one who is currently a little behind in terms of fitness is the Genoa striker.
After a long stop, Retegui it is slowly approaching its standard performance. Gilardino has understood that to find the striker seen at the beginning of the season he must make him play as much as possible. And so he is doing: in 8 days there have been three matches in which the national team center forward took to the pitch from the first to the last minute. The Italian-Argentine has scored 3 goals in 10 games in Serie A and is coming off a negative performance against Monza, especially due to the great opportunity that came to him at 0-0. There is a desire for redemption, to score a goal that has been missing since the end of September (4-1 to Roma) and the match against Juventus in a sold out Ferraris is the perfect stage to celebrate again. Vlahovic with the black and white shirt has not yet repeated his exploits in Florence but for Allegri he is an important player, never in question. He scored the last goal in the 1-1 draw with Inter on November 26th, the only draw for the Bianconeri in the last 8 matches in which they have collected an impressive 7 wins (and a draw). In 13 appearances in this Serie A Vlahovic has scored 5 goals.
The one between Albert Gudmundsson and Federico Chiesa it's another challenge within the challenge. These are those footballers who must be included in protected categories because they are in danger of extinction. They skip the man, make assists and alone are able to turn on their teammates. The Folletto rossoblù, a bit like Retegui, is looking for the best form. He is back from an injury but also in Monza, after a sleepy first half, he showed flashes of his qualities with rapid counterattacks and above all with a vertical ball from the football textbook which Radu Dragusin was unable to convert into the net due to a question of centimeters. Compared to Chiesa, this year Gudmundsson has shown that he has a little more confidence with goalscoring: so far he has scored 5 goals: he is the rossoblù's top scorer. The Juventus player, born in Genoa, is one of the most talented players on the national team. When he sets off at speed he leaps past his opponents without giving the impression of struggling. From a scoring point of view, his season started off great with 4 goals in the first 5 days; then, however, he stopped: his last goal in Serie A was dated 23 September, the day of the Bianconeri's only stoppage in the championship against Sassuolo. With Inter, however, the assist for Vlahovic's goal arrived.
When fantasy players don't decide games, defenders do. Federico Gatti – 25 year old who made his professional debut in 2020/2021 with Pro Patria in the Lega Pro – even did it in the last two matches: in the 94th minute in Monza-Juve on 1 December and then repeated with Napoli at the Stadium. One meter and ninety for ninety kilos, the Juventus central defender is one of the revelations of Allegri's team. Genoa, however, is quite knowledgeable on the subject because since Gilardino arrived on the rossoblù bench last year, Dragusin, in addition to making enormous progress in defense, has also rediscovered himself as a goalscorer. This year the first goal in Serie A came against Verona. A decisive goal, which coincides among other things with the rossoblù's last championship victory.
Even if with different roles, the charisma and experience of the captains will also weigh: Milan Badelj and Danilo. The rossoblù midfielder is among the key men in Gilardino's team, which never gives up on the Croatian. Badelj's performances do not always convince critics but the importance of the Croatian in the economy of the Genoa game is undeniable. As well as the grit and determination of Danilo, the new leader of the Juventus dressing room who this year to replace Locatelli has shown that he can also be a midfielder. On the other hand, the Brazilian is someone who played for Real Madrid and Manchester City, as well as a starter for the Seleçao.
#duel #challenge #Genoa #Juventus #key #matches #match #Marassi