The third consecutive victory in the championshipand without conceding a goal, it’s the best way to prepare for a game that is worth a good chunk of the season: the second leg of the Europa League play-offs against Nantes on Thursday. In La Spezia, Allegri changed six men compared to last Thursday’s match by fielding Paredes from mezzala, only to then replace him in the interval: another insufficient test for the Argentine midfielder. Luckily for Allegri there is the other Argentine who makes the difference. Di Maria, initially preserved, entered the second half and he turned on the light. Beyond the goal that practically closed the game, thanks to Marchetti, Di Maria always gives the feeling of being able to create dangers. His performance has totally changed compared to the pre-world and on him and his qualities Allegri will rely on Nantes to hope to overcome a complicated playoff after the 1-1 draw in the first leg.
The analysis of the match against Spezia
Even against Spezia there was little Juventus. After the goal by Kean, the match was almost always played by the home team. Perin was definitely the man of the match. Vlahovic received very few playable balls. Even the usually lucid Rabiot played below his own standard. How much the thought of Thursday affected the team’s performance, we cannot know. Just as we cannot know today whether Chiesa will recover for Nantes. Certainly, Allegri is totally right on one aspect: against Spezia Juventus won despite playing worse than last Thursday. And the certainty is that to win in France, a much better performance will be needed. And an inspired Di Maria. Only he can be able to give the jolt that a team that too often shuts down needs now.