The Bianconeri will have five winnable games between now and the end of January, while the top four will face each other in a series of direct clashes. And Spalletti’s work is finally beginning to show…

Is this a new Juve? After two victories in direct clashes against Bologna and Roma, the question is legitimate. Of course, to quote Agatha Christie, two clues do not yet constitute proof, but the feeling is that we are looking at a different team. One that better expresses its coach’s demands and, above all, is more confident in its own abilities. After all, Spalletti had repeated it ad nauseam: his players just needed to be aware of their strength and the quality of their training. And the impression is that in the last 180 minutes, the turning point has arrived…

After the defeat in Naples on December 7, Juventus was seventh in the standings, four points behind fourth-placed Roma and even behind Como and Bologna. So much so that Spalletti had lashed out at his players. “We need to make progress, and quickly, because otherwise it will be difficult,” he said bluntly. This was followed by the Champions League match against Paphos, with “embarrassing situations” (Luciano dixit) in the first half and confirmation that we were facing a team gripped by fear of making mistakes and crushed by the weight of the jersey. Then, however, came the turning point: the 2-0 win in the second half, but above all the convincing away win in Bologna. In that match, the Bianconeri were aggressive, at times even dominant, reactive, and able to exploit their opponents’ weaknesses. “Now they can’t go back: it was a crucial test,” warned Spalletti, who, against Roma, albeit with more suffering, especially in the first half, had his confirmation. Since yesterday, Juve is a little more his. And also a little more free from superstructures. “We are dealing with attentive, determined young men who are eager to carve out a piece of history within the walls of these places,” was the Tuscan coach’s verdict after the victory over the Giallorossi. They are trying to work to make people talk about them, eager to determine their own destiny and not what the past has been, to carve out a little personal glory for themselves.”

Juve’s schedule in January—  What now? The schedule comes to the aid of the Juve coach and his players: after three consecutive direct clashes, here are five challenges that look manageable on paper: Pisa, Sassuolo, and Cagliari away, Lecce and Cremonese at home. In the same period, leaders Inter will face Atalanta away, Bologna, and Napoli at home; second-placed Milan will have a tricky catch-up game against Como; third-placed Napoli will face Lazio and Inter away; fourth-placed Roma will have to face the away game in Bergamo. Of course, some flaws remain (lost balls, errors in the final pass, and wasted chances), and against teams like their upcoming opponents, who will play with a very low block, Juve has already shown in the past (see Torino and Fiorentina) that they struggle. In the best-case scenario, however, at the end of January, the Bianconeri could find themselves playing a direct clash at the Allianz against Napoli in the midst of the Scudetto battle. “See Napoli and then die” was the thought after the defeat on December 7. See Napoli and then rise again could have been Spalletti’s fate instead.

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