11 January 2016
Yesterday’s win against Sampdoria brought to a close Juventus’ first half of the campaign – a five month period that began with a certain degree of difficulty, but which ended with a ninth successive victory in Serie A that has seen them rise from 12th after Matchday 10 to second place at the season’s midway point.
As a result, Massimiliano Allegri’s men have recorded some impressive statistics, the very best of which feature below.
Team effort
The Bianconeri boast the fourth strongest attack in the top flight with 33 goals, behind Napoli, Fiorentina and Roma. Traditionally miserly in defence down the years, they have conceded on only 15 occasions (the second fewest along with Napoli) so far in the league, three more than the division’s meanest rearguard, Inter.
In terms of goal difference, they are tied in second place on +18, this time with Fiorentina, while trailing Maurizio Sarri’s men.
Massimiliano Allegri’s men take first spot on the podium, however, for dribbling (262) and conceding the lowest number of shots to the opposition (167).
Meanwhile, the team has also done its part down the other end of the pitch by producing 306 shots (22 behind leaders Napoli), while enjoying the third highest possession count of 55.75 per cent – an area that sees Fiorentina reign supreme with 62.85 per cent. They also take the bronze for pass completion (8,306 across the 19 matches), once again trailing the usual suspects of the Partenopei and Viola.
Individual brilliance
Standing out on an individual level are Paul Pogba and Paulo Dybala, who are among the division’s top performers in terms of total shots (58 and 55 respectively) and efforts on target (18 and 20). They both join Juan Cuadrado for the most amount of dribbles completed (53, 38 and 37).
Dybala also features strongly in other departments, having created the fourth greatest number of scoring opportunities (42 – just five behind Giacomo Bonaventura’s leading tally) and occupies fifth place for crosses delivered, including corners (116).
Defensively, meanwhile, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini (1,017 and 928 respectively) make the league’s top 11 for passes completed, while Pogba is seventh in the list of players to have won back the ball most frequently, the Frenchman having done so on 138 occasions.
What will the second half of the season hold in store for the champions? Round 2 begins on Sunday 17 January against Udinese...
