Against Lazio in the Italian Cup, the first together in black and white: now they have to find the understanding of Florence. And there is another Di Maria towards Salerno
I’ll start over with the two. Massimiliano Allegri against Lazio in the Italian Cup was finally able to enjoy the first taste of his golden couple. Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic had never played together at Juventus. Blame the injuries.
When the Serbian was bought by Fiorentina a year ago, Fede was already in the pits due to the bad injury to his left knee sustained at the Olimpico stadium in Rome. And when Chiesa returned to the field in the autumn, the groin pain stopped Dusan. Moral of the story: Max has never had both friends at once before. Today the two, friends since their days in Florence, are the present and, who knows, the future of Juve. Starting with the away match in Salerno the day after tomorrow, “a direct confrontation”, to put it in Allegri’s words. And here too a “first” could take place: the Di Maria-Vlahovic-Chiesa trident from the beginning. Juventus fans have dreamed of it since the beginning of the season, now it could be a reality.
CHALLENGE
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Enrico’s son recounted the difficult months of the injury in the docu-film just released on Amazon Prime, “Back on track”. And in the recent interview with the Gazzetta he reiterated his happiness at being able to return to play with Vlahovic, as in the days of Fiorentina: “There has always been a certain complicity between us”. Gauntlet launched to the couple of the moment in Serie A, Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, who are dragging Napoli on the road to the Scudetto. “They are both in great shape and above all they have found harmony by playing together since the beginning of the season”. There is a thread of regret in the words of Chiesa, who is only starting to feel an affinity with his friend Dusan again in these days. Late for the Scudetto, also for that -15 which weighs like a boulder on the Juventus standings. But, as Allegri repeats to the point of obsession, the players only have to think about winning matches on the field. In the league because the penalty is not yet definitive and it is not known what the future holds for Juve: in the cups (Europa League and Coppa Italia) because here comes the possibility of saving a troubled season with an extra trophy on the bulletin board.
THE MEMORY
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The first (and so far only…) goal scored by the Vlahovic-Chiesa duo dates back to a Coppa Italia match, Fiorentina-Monza on 18 August 2019. Support from the Serbian for Fede, who with a nice shot from the edge beat Lamanna for the final 3-1 in favor of the Viola. The two then demonstrated a good understanding in Florence, but incredibly there was no more another goal from one of the other’s assists. And, above all, Vlahovic is still waiting for his friend to return the favor with a winning pass. Allegri hopes that Chiesa can already repay Arechi on Tuesday.
TACTICS
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It would also help for Dusan’s morale, who returned just a week ago from a stop that lasted with Juve since 25 October, but which also conditioned him at the World Cup in Qatar, where he barely played 70 minutes, still managing to make a goal. Vlahovic is not yet in top condition, but against Salernitana he should keep ownership, to the detriment of Kean. As mentioned, Allegri is thinking of experimenting for the first time with the super trident with Di Maria on the right, Chiesa on the left and the jewel of Belgrade as a center forward. It was the set-up that Max had in mind last summer for his “real Juve”, which due to the many injuries up to now has often and willingly been a “virtual Juve”, to put it his way. But in the mind of the coach from Livorno there is also another variant with Di Maria under attack, Chiesa on one of the two flanks and a pure runner on the other lane (Cuadrado or Kostic) in a 4-2-3-1 that brings back in memory the ride to the Champions League which ended with the final lost in Cardiff against Real Madrid in June 2017. A few months earlier, Chiesa had made his Serie A debut. And a few days later, Vlahovic landed in Florence.
February 5, 2023 (change February 5, 2023 | 09:11)
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