Tuesday night saw Juventus rescue a point at home to a young Parma side to maintain their unbeaten start to the Serie A season.
It was an exciting end-to-end game at the Allianz Stadium, which saw Parma take the lead in just three minutes through defender Enrico Del Prato. Former Leeds United loanee Weston Mckennie then levelled for the hosts just past the half-hour mark before Simon Sohm fired the visitors back in front seven minutes before half-time. Timothy Weah pulled the hosts level again five minutes after the restart, finishing off a quick Juventus counterattack.
So, what key things can we take away from the four-goal thriller between a potential title contender and a newly promoted side?
Parma can be very happy with their performance
The main takeaway from this game was the performance of Fabio Pecchia’s side. The Crociati side featured a nice blend of youth with experience, and they were extremely impressive with the attitude and desire shown against the 36-time Scudetto winners.
Parma played with no fear and looked very dangerous, particularly on the break, due to their pace up front. There were several impressive displays within the Parma team, including a solid showing from Japanese goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and a man-of-the-match display from 24-year-old defender Enrico Del Prato.
However, there was one display that stood out against the rest.
Adrián Bernabé looks a brilliant talent
Despite only receiving a match rating of 6.4, Bernabé looked to be one of the most technically gifted players on the pitch. The Spanish 23-year-old, who has spent time at Barcelona and Manchester City at youth level, was extremely comfortable on the ball and was not afraid to have the ball in any situation, showing a great level of calmness in possession.
The Spaniard had a pass completion rate of 93% (51/55), with nine of those being passes into the final third. He also created two chances despite playing in a deeper midfield role, showing his quality in possession.
After his impressive performance against the Bianconeri, Bernabé certainly seems one to keep an eye out for this season.
Worrying signs for the hosts’ defence
It was an extremely frustrating night for the hosts, who, despite only conceding once in the first eight games of the season, have now conceded six in their last two. Juventus boss Thiago Motta spoke about his team’s performance, saying that his side must add balance to their performances.
“We allowed a lot to Parma, we created a lot too, but we must try to avoid giving them so many scoring opportunities on the counter-attack. At times we did well, at others not so much, we need to improve the balance of good to bad,”
It could be argued that Juve’s lack of defensive solidity stems from the absence of defender Gleison Bremer, who suffered a torn ACL against Red Bull Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League earlier this month.
If the Bianconeri are to mount a serious title charge, they need to address their imbalances quickly, as too often against Parma, they were exposed to counterattacks where a more deadly side would have punished them.
However, there are exciting attacking options
Despite the leaky defence being a major cause for concern, Thiago Motta has a great deal of exciting attacking talent at his disposal. Players such as Dusan Vlahovic, Chico Conceição, Timothy Weah, Kenan Yildiz and Nicolás González, who is set to return from a thigh injury in November, all provide quality attacking options.
Perhaps the standout talent out of these names, however, is Chico Conceição. The on-loan Porto winger has been an exciting watch this season due to his direct approach, and he notched his second assist in two games against Parma. The 21-year-old created three chances and completed 60% of his dribbles (3/5), showing his quality in 1v1 situations.
Juve will likely view this game as two points dropped however, credit must be given to a young Parma side who are now 14th and one point off the relegation zone. Juve have slipped down to fourth in the league as a result and are now seven points behind leaders Napoli.