Who knows if Crotone’s broth, arriving tonight at the Stadium, will be enough to lift the spirits of a Juventus that, fresh from the defeats against Naples and Porto, is now really with its back to the wall. Moreover, with half a team in the pits and the fear that the season could get out of hand. Let’s be clear: everything is still in play, from the Scudetto to the Champions League and with the Coppa Italia final reached. However, it is clear that, in the presence of an Inter that has started to march with the turbo and after having made a bad impression on the Dragao, partially saving itself thanks to Chiesa’s goal in the final, a minimum of concern begins to spread.
Crotone is welcome, then: impossible not to beat because, if the opposite happens, then the state of crisis should be formalized. After that, it is equally logical that the real counter-tests will be others, pending March 9 and the return match of the second knockout round. Against a team fresh from 4 defeats in a row and which has so far suffered 52 goals (worst defense) and only scored 23, Ronaldo and his teammates will be able to find a smile at least partially. CR7 himself feels the need to give his medal table a dusting, since he hasn’t scored for three games in a row and 347 minutes overall: he will probably have Kulusevski at his side (Morata is not yet at his best) and will try to make the Crotone the 78th team he will have rejoiced against.
In the background, however, the two knockouts with Napoli and Porto will remain for a while: «There was no need for Agnelli to intervene – so Pirlo -. No jolt was needed, because we knew we hadn’t been to Juve. Now let’s think about Crotone ». With Buffon in goal and half a team knocked out: it was known about Cuadrado, Arthur, Bonucci and Chiellini, but Pirlo himself explained that “Dybala still feels pain in his knee, it will take more time”. Missing from January 10, without forgetting the scarce contribution given up to that moment, it is an absence that begins to weigh: Ramsey will be available again, Bentancur (unfortunate in the Champions League) and McKennie will grit their teeth. On the launching pad, from the start or in the current match, the baby Fagioli already seen in the Italian Cup against Spal: «He is part of the first team, like Dragusin and others. If needed, they will play from the first minute ».
–
