Juventus Narrowly Beat Parma 2-1

Juventus

Formation: 4-3-3

Starting 11

Goalkeeper: Szczęsny

Defenders: Sandro, Bonucci, Chiellini & Cuadrado

Midfielders: Matuidi, Pjanic and Khedira

Forwards: Mandzukic, Ronaldo, Bernardeschi

Bench

Goalkeepers: Perin & Pinsoglio

Defenders: De Sciglio, Benatia, Barzagli, Cancelo

Midfielders: Emre Can, Bentancur

Forwards: Dybala, Costa, Kean

Calcio Parma

Formation: 4-3-3

Starting 11

Goalkeeper: Sepe

Defenders: Gobbi, Gagliolo, Alves & Iacoponi

Midfielders: Barilla, Stulac & Rigoni

Forwards: Di Gaudio, Inglese & Gervinho

Bench

Goalkeepers: Bagheria & Frattali

Defenders: Dimarco, Gazzola & Sierralta

Midfielders: Deiola & Grassi

Forwards: Ceravolo, Da Cruz & Sprocati

First half

Juventus started off on fire with Mandzukic finding the back of the net in the 3rd minute thanks to an assist from Cuadrado. Super Mario has scored twice and assisted once in the past three matches. He’s off to an amazing start of the season and we can only hope he continues in his current form. Juventus was clearly dominant for the first 10 minutes but Parma found ways to eventually fire back in the counter attack. Juve was really poor defending the counter attack and ended up conceding a goal by Gervinho in the 31st minute.

Khedira and Matuidi had a very bad first half of the game, having barely contributed in the build up or defending. Pjanic was the only midfielder that stood out, he was always tracking back in defense and helping the build up play. He has started off this season very strong and continues to be our best midfielder. Lastly, Bernardeschi was the other player that stood out to me. He had more than a handful of scoring opportunities and did his best to find space for crosses. He has a very bright future ahead of him and as glad as I am to see him start, I think he would currently be better coming off the bench.

Second half

We started off the second half much better. We didn’t struggle as much to defend the counter attack even if Parma still created goal scoring opportunities. In the 55th minute, Costa came in for Bernardeschi. As soon as Costa came you could see an immediate impact. He’s just so good at taking the ball forward and keeping possession. It’s such a joy to be able to see his magical way of playing.

A few minutes later in the 58th minute, Mandzukic assisted Matuidi in the goal that sealed the win for us. Matuidi seriously made up what for he didn’t do in the first half. He was simply everywhere on the pitch fighting for the ball and was able to secure a goal in the process. Let’s all just forget about that awful first half. The two World Cup finalists linking up in this way is also pretty cool once you think about it.

Can came in for Pjanic in the 73rd minute and Dybala came in for Khedira in the 80th minute. After Dybala came in, our formation changed from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1. Dybala is apparently not up to full fitness yet which is why he hasn’t started in the past two matches. I really can’t wait for him to start matches frequently because I honestly feel that he will link up with Ronaldo in a spectacular way. Can has also been a player I look forward to seeing. I’m not sure how well he’d do as starter, but when he comes in it’s easy to see we have more control over the midfield.

The good

• At the end of the day: Winning is not important, it’s the only thing that matters. It was a ugly win but I’m sure as the rest of the squad reaches full fitness, we’ll start to perform better as time goes by.

• Every news outlet is definitely not missing the opportunity to talk about how Ronaldo hasn’t found the back of the net in three appearances. I’ll go over this later in the post but it just goes to show we don’t have to depend on any single player for goals. Collectively, we have countless players that can score.

• A big congratulations goes to Paulo Dybala for having made his 100th appearance in a Bianconeri shirt! I really hope he stays at our club for a long time and continues to reach the next 100 appearance milestone. He’s one of our most important players as of now and going into the future. Forza Juve!

The bad

• Cuadrado is a decent backup for Cancelo. One problem with both players is that they need to improve defensively. Attacking wise, they are both really great. Although I would rather not see Cuadrado start as a RB over Cancelo unless we HAVE to. Cuadrado is much more effective as a pure winger, his natural playing position.

• In three games, Ronaldo has managed to get 23 shots without a single goal scored. In the top 5 leagues, he’s the player with the most shots as of right now. I’m sure this is very frustrating for him as it is for us fans eagerly awaiting his first goal. As much as it sucks, it’s definitely not a reason for concern. Ronaldo is one of the best in the world and he's just had some bad luck. I lost count of how many times he’s come close to scoring. His performances have been great despite not scoring. It’s only a matter of time before he starts finding the back of the net more times than we can keep track of.

Player of the Match: Mandzukic

Having given us the lead so early on and helping to seal the win with an assist, there’s no one that came close to the amount of influence he had in the win. Without a doubt one of my favorite players in the past three seasons. His fino alla fine attitude, aggression and hunger for winning is truly admirable. A player that definitely represents our core values.

Forza Juve!