Gian Piero Gasperini’s in-game tweaks are one reason his Atalanta side keep recovering from losing positions – and they did it again to draw with JuventusIt should have been all over. Within 25 minutes of Serie A’s Sunday night fixture, Juventus were two goals to the good. What opponent could overcome such a disastrous start against the champs: winners of six consecutive Serie A titles, as well as six consecutive games to begin this season? Who would even dare to fight back against the Old Lady of Turin?Only the Goddess of Bergamo. Atalanta share their name with Greek mythology’s virgin huntress, and over the past 12 months they have embodied her combative spirit just as well. Related: European roundup: Neymar...
A penalty awarded against Juventus at home in the opening game was just what the VAR was supposed to pick up – but a referee whistling too soon at Bologna proved costly for TorinoIt used to be that a new Serie A season would provide us with a fresh round of discorsi da bar – football talking points to get worked up about over a beer or Monday morning espresso. This year, things went in a different direction. When the final whistles had blown and Giorgia Cardinaletti welcomed us back to Rai 2’s long-running highlights show, Domenica Sportiva, she and her studio guests instead dived straight into discorsi da VAR.Yes, this was the weekend when Italian football fans received their...
From another Scudetto triumph for Juventus to Crotone’s miraculous escape, we revisit Papu Gómez’s armbands, Joe Hart’s gaffes and the grace of TottiThis might have been another year of European heartbreak for Juventus, but domestically it was the same old story. The Bianconeri won Serie A for the sixth consecutive season, and collected their third straight Coppa Italia as well. No team had ever won either trophy so many times in succession. They have made the unprecedented look routine.And yet, this season was not lacking in drama. To the contrary, there was something wild about this campaign right from the start. There were 32 goals scored (not to mention three red cards) on the opening weekend alone. The final tally...
AC Jimbo and co reflect on a 12th European Cup for Real Madrid after a breathless Champions League final in Cardiff. Where next for Juventus? And is it now time to recognise Zinédine Zidane as one of the managerial greats?And lo, it’s the final Football Weekly of the season. My, how time flies. Continue reading...
The foundation for the Champions League final win was laid by excellent work down the right flank which overwhelmed the converted wide players featuring on the Juventus leftThe key feature of the opening stages of the Champions League final on Saturday was Real Madrid suffering down their right flank. Luka Modric was forced to cover a huge amount of space, and the right-back Dani Carvajal was overloaded and overpowered by Mario Mandzukic. By the end of the night, however, Real ran out comfortable winners – with Modric and Carvajal crucial in their attacking play.It is rare to see a European final contested between two teams using such flexible systems. Zinedine Zidane’s use of Isco rather than a half‑fit Gareth Bale...