Juventus Rejoins The Scudetto Race But 'Are Not In The Same Level' With The Top Contenders Yet

It was another emphatic result from Italian giants, Juventus after they demolished Cremonese, 5-0 at the Allianz Stadium, which is their second straight match whee they’ve scored three goals or more without conceding after they defeated Sassuolo 3-0 in their previous game.

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Earlier before kick off, club legend, Gianluigi Buffon had claimed that the Bianconeri would have been among the title contenders alongside at this stage If Luciano Spalletti had been in charge at the start of the season and this result gave further credence to that statement.

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Meanwhile, heading into this encounter, Juve knew that this was a big opportunity after the top three were all held to stalemates over the weekend, and they took it with both hands, crushing their opponent while also riding their luck a little too, as Gleison Bremer scored by mistake redirecting Fabio Miretti’s shot.

Then after Jonathan David’s counter-attack, Cremonese had a penalty revoked by VAR. At the other end, Kenan Yildiz did convert eventually, despite Emil Audero fingertipping the initial spot-kick onto the upright, before Weston McKennie forced a Filippo Terracciano own goal and then made sure with a header.

In spite of the huge win, their manager who was appointed late last year to replace Igor Tudor choose to remain grounded in his post match analysis where he first talked about the penalty incident while also shutting down talks of the team joining the Scudetto race.

“I just want to note that in my view, neither of the two penalties today should’ve been awarded,” added Spalletti, agreeing with the entire Sky Sport Italia panel of pundits and when asked if he expected such a remarkable run of form, his reply was modest at best:

“When you take on this work, there can always be surprises, good and bad ones, as the pitch does the talking,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia. “We were in control, we had a good game and were set out well, we had the right hunger against an opponent that knows what it’s doing.”

“Davide Nicola knows the top flight very well and what his squad has to do, so they are well-organised and ready to battle. With a bit of good luck, we managed to get the result on track early, but then also had some bad luck with that penalty off the upright. I think all things considered we were in charge, although there were still a few wobbles that are hard to get rid of.”

This result puts the Old Lady firmly in the Scudetto race, as they caught Roma and Napoli on 39 points but the trio if Napoli, Inter and Milan all have a game in hand, so once those fixtures are played on Wednesday and Thursday, we’ll have a clearer idea of the Serie A table.

After that, coming up this weekend, Juventus will go head-to-head with Antonio Conte’s Napoli. “I watched Inter-Napoli last night, they showed the top level of football, open and attacking football, with character and ideas, representing their coaches,” the former Inter and Napoli coach revealed.

“I think we need to improve a lot to reach their level, and we need to take those steps quickly. I have seen great effort from these lads, so I feel we can make those improvements.” Since Spalletti took the job in November, Juve have collected 24 points in Serie A with seven wins.

It means that they’re only behind League leaders Inter on 25 with eight victories but nonetheless, his contract only runs to June 30 and there is no automatic clause to extend even if they qualify for the Champions League, although there are reports that the club has opened a channel of communication over a renewal after terminating Tudor’s contract.

“I already said I am the only person who doesn’t need a contract right now, because if I were to start again, I’d hope to find a new team. We talked about it at the start with the general manager and were very clear, so I am really not interested in the contract,” replied Spalletti.

“I just want to see these players giving me the excitement I got from football when I started playing as a kid and then coaching later on. That is what makes the difference for me. I’ll also say that I was asked about the contract before the game with Lecce, and that was a draw, so if I’d been asked this question before today’s match, I would not have answered…”

Among the reasons for the lack of a longer contract was also the fact Spalletti was coming off the unusual sacking from the Italy job, so did that experience knock him back? “I am old now, and my kids always remind me of that, so changing my attitude and thoughts now is tough.”

“Having said that, one must try to keep up with the times. I’ve got players so sharp and strong that they are what counts to see where we can go.” He further added and for Weston McKennie, he revealed that ‘it’s always nice to score, but the win is what matters’.

Gleison Bremer didn’t seem to know much about his goal, as the Fabio Miretti strike hit his face and ricocheted into the net, while Jonathan David scored for the second game in a row with a counter-attack and Yildiz converted on the rebound after Emil Audero fingertipped a penalty onto the upright.

In the second half, it was all about McKennie as he saw one effort given as a Filippo Terracciano own goal for the failed clearance on the line, before the American did nod in Pierre Kalulu’s cross and in his post match interview, McKnennie spoke about the game and his growing influence in the team.

“In these games, the important thing is to get the three points, as the teams ahead of us dropped points. It’s always nice to win 5-0, for us and for the fans,” he told Sky Sport Italia as the American continues to play different roles, and is currently impressing as part of a trio supporting the striker.

“I am always at the disposal of the team, the important thing for me is not scoring goals, but winning the game and helping the squad. It’s always nice to score of course, but the win is what matters.” There was also some controversy, as Cremonese had a penalty revoked by VAR for Manuel Locatelli’s sliding tackle.

At the other end, the same treatment wasn’t afforded to a very harsh handling offence given against Federico Baschirotto and then thilis result means Juventus catch Napoli and Roma in joint third place on 39 points, although the Partenopei, Milan and Inter all have a game in hand from their Supercoppa Italiana commitment.

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“As I said last week, we play to win every game and want to improve day by day, then we’ll see where we are at the end of the season,” and for Thuram, he said: “This is a very important month coming up, both in Serie A and the Champions League, we have a match against Benfica that will be fundamental for us.”

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