Atalanta came into the game off the back of a run of twelve straight wins in all competitions, including 3 clean sheets previous to this meeting with Juve. The hosts suffered a surprise defeat to Milan and Sarri would be keen to put his side back on the right track towards the Serie A title. […]
Author: firstgoalscorer
Napoli 0-0 Juventus : Gattuso captures Coppa Italia in shootout
Napoli, going for their first cup victory since 2014, entered the final off the back of a 1-1 draw with Inter which saw them through 2-1 on aggregate. Juve, with a similarly close affair, closed out a 0-0 against Milan to progress on away goals. The first week of the re-emergence of top-level Italian football […]
Italy U21s 1-0 Germany U21s : Italy progress
Italy went into their final group game in need of a result against Germany after their slightly surprising loss to Czech Republic. Despite this, they looked confident and determined to progress, with a talented squad and a fiery attitude. Di Biagio wasn’t afraid to make changes – leaving Petagna out of the starting lineup and […]
Juventus 2-1 Fiorentina : Sousa’s team on the back foot
The opening day of Serie A brought together two rivals who had very different starts to last year’s campaign. This time around, Allegri would be looking to get out of the blocks quickly, and without certain big names or new recruits in the starting line-up. Higuain and Pjanic were left out, although Dani Alves made […]
Italy 2-0 Spain : A perfect system
Despite playing well in parts in the group stages, Conte’s side went into the knockout stages off the back of a loss against Ireland – one in which although inconsequential to their position, gave away weaknesses to their competitors. The job was to then rally a performance like we saw against Belgium, and for this […]
Euro 2016 : Italy’s route to Saint-Denis
With a suspected tough start against Belgium, Conte drew on an expected and trusted system, fielding the 5-3-2 – which remained the case throughout the group stage. The only slight surprise was the inclusion of Parolo and omission of Florenzi in the Belgium game, who was then reintroduced and left back against Sweden at the […]
Euro 2016 : Italy’s final preparations
The tactical balance and shape of the Italian team has been an interesting one in recent times, and one which Conte appeared to have settled on based on the last couple of preparation games. The 3-5-2, that has served Juventus well, is built upon that same back-line of Buffon, Barzagli, Chiellini and Bonucci; this seems […]
Coppa Italia final : Milan 0-1 Juventus (aet)
Both teams entered the final encounter of the season with enforced changed to their side, whilst retaining a familiar shape. Milan manager Christian Brocchi, once a combative central midfielder himself, included a midfield three of Kucka and Poli, with Montolivo orchestrating just behind. Bonaventura and Honda occupied the wide areas either side of Bacca, with […]
Fiorentina 1-1 Napoli : High-intensity stalemate
With Juve on top, four points clear, and Roma one point ahead of Fiorentina, both sides were desperate for a win coming into this match. Neither team had a successful time in Europe in the week, but Napoli had experienced the more turbulent time in Serie A recently – conceding a late winner to Juve […]
Fiorentina 2-1 Inter : Purple reign in Florence
Both teams came into the match with form that had tailed of from the first half of the season, but with Inter having the worst of it recently. A third place finish is still up for grabs, and this game would seemingly give us a big indication as to who was favourite in the chase […]