The Larians open the scoring in the first half and seal the deal with the Argentine talent, who scores and provides an assist. Juve fall after five draws between Serie A and Champions League, their last win coming in a 4-3 victory over Inter.

As if it were an ominous preview of Wednesday’s trip to Real Madrid, Nico Paz – a product of the Blancos academy – tore Juventus apart with an assist and a goal as the Bianconeri lost for the first time this season. At the Giuseppe Sinigaglia in Como, the hosts win 2-0 with a goal in each half and send the Old Lady into an official state of crisis, without a goal in 180 minutes and without a win in over a month. Marc Oliver Kempf opens the scoring in the 4th minute, and Paz closes it in the 79th minute with one of his magical moments.

For the first time in the Igor Tudor era, Juventus started with a four-man defense (4-2-3-1 à la Thiago Motta), but the goal Como scored after four minutes was not a problem of formation but of defensive concentration. The defenders were caught napping when, following a corner, Paz’s talent produced a splendid cross to the far post that found Kempf: Cesc Fabregas’ defender popped up behind Pierre Kalulu and scored with a tap-in. The Old Lady got burned, but not badly, stumbling through the first half with technical and concentration errors until she regained her composure and courage in her play, leaving the frenzy behind. True, she still conceded a couple of clear chances to the hosts, but she knew how to be dangerous, especially by turning the game around quickly. Both Francisco Conceiçao and Kenan Yildiz did well up to the last 20 meters, Khephren Thuram was disruptive in the attacking midfielder role with his powerful breaks, and Teun Koopmeiners also improved. Jonathan David started poorly but played a key role in the team’s improvement and linked up well with his teammates. The Canadian could have scored in the 36th minute with a striker’s finish at the near post, but Koopmeiners was offside when he sprinted to receive Manuel Locatelli’s pass. Precision was lacking: Yildiz, Thuram, and Conceiçao all missed the target from excellent positions before the break.

on the ground—  Perhaps Juventus’ problem at this stage of the season is that the team doesn’t score even on the few occasions it creates chances. Having survived the first scare of the second half unscathed, Tudor’s men kept possession but hardly ever really troubled Jean Butez. In the second half, David drops back, failing to excite the Bianconeri fans since the first day of Serie A, but the story remains the same when he is moved back to midfield with the entry of Dusan Vlahovic. Determination and desire are not lacking, but the return from the international break presents the coach with the same team that lacks effective ideas from midfield onwards. With Juventus traveling to Real Madrid on Wednesday, all it takes is the product of the Blanco youth academy, Paz, and a solid but not galactic defense to cage the Bianconeri in their mediocrity of results.

all around paz—  Fabregas’ team – who is suspended – is disrupted by absences. However, the start is explosive as usual thanks to the Paz-Kempf axis, which pushes Como forward and tests Juventus’ mettle: the Bianconeri falter without falling, but already after fifteen minutes, the impression is that everything must go through the Argentine phenomenon, given that wingers Mergim Vojvoda and Maxence Caqueret and center forward Alvaro Morata are struggling to break through. As a result, the visitors had room to counterattack, and by the end of the first half, Guindos found himself with three-quarters of his defense booked. For this reason, he brought Ramon on for Diego Carlos at halftime. The chance came immediately in the second half, with Caqueret shooting wide after Michele Di Gregorio’s short clearance from Vojvoda, but then Como began to suffer again, and halfway through the half, Guindos sought to turn the tide by bringing on Alex Valle in defense and Anastasios Douvikas on the left wing. The fresh legs helped, but then everything—as mentioned—went through Paz, who in the 79th minute struck the knockout blow with his left foot, beating Di Gregorio in the far corner on the counterattack. And if the defense held firm at the back and Como’s magician worked his magic up front, Fabregas’ formula was once again worth three points, this time even more valuable. A clear 2-0 win, albeit with obvious room for improvement at the collective level: raise your hand if you see the limits of this Como side.