Juventus Find Early Success with More Defensive Scheme

Luciano Spalletti has devised another tactical iteration of his Juventus squad following a couple more injuries, and it paid immediate dividends versus Lecce. After Francisco Conceiçao and Nicolas Gonzalez went down within a week, the coach switched to a pure 3-5-2.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the tweak was at least partially concurred with the players. The Bianconeri have been chronically suspect defensively. The new formation significantly helps on that end, even more so if Pierre Kalulu plays wide and not in the back, with Federico Gatti behind him.

Spalletti has so far mostly utilized 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and 3-4-2-1 throughout his career and in his time at Juventus, exploiting Weston McKennie’s versatility. The recently-minted tactic is a lot less proactive for his standards. Plus, it allows him to field Randal Kolo Muani and Nick Woltemade together. They have worked better as a combo rather than spearheading the attack solo.

The adjustment has immediately benefitted Douglas Luiz and Teun Koopmeiners. The former scored and assisted against Lecce, while the latter provided a helper. Both seem more comfortable with another man next to them in the midfield. The former Aston Villa star has stepped up sans Manuel Locatelli. Instead, the Dutchman would like to prolong his stay in Turin.

Our Take on Spalletti and Juventus

Constant changes often signal that a coach is grasping at straws, but it’s worth a shot while they are so depleted. It’s not particularly sustainable because of their roster makeup, and the returning players aren’t good fits for it. Still, they need to be sound on at least one end to have sustained success, and they should concede less with this.