Yildiz, consistency and a clean sheet: Juventus capitalise on their fixture list and get a taste of Champions League action. Will Di Gregorio be on the bench? Perin is a certainty to start

CM Grafica Sabatini Juventus Udinese Serie A 16 9

A review following Juventus' victory over Udinese.

Juve win and spend a night – at least one night – in the Champions League zone.

With eyes on Como v Roma rather than Lazio v Milan, the Bianconeri are savouring, in order: 1) the superb Yildiz; 2) consistency in their play; 3) a clean sheet. Like gold, silver and bronze medals, these are three complementary qualities that instil confidence in the Bianconeri’s future.

With the storm of poor results now behind them, Juve are making the most of the fixture list to breathe the air of fourth place once more, which is crucial for next season.

BY GREGORIO AND PERIN...

There is also a fourth point worth highlighting: Di Gregorio on the bench in favour of Perin, who is now a certainty in the starting line-up. Just like his confidence: it’s plain to see. In the defensive trio, Kalulu often marked Atta, not without difficulty. Bremer, in ‘energy-saving’ mode, frequently left it to Kelly to mark Davis. Moreover, the Englishman coped admirably, struggling only with Zaniolo’s explosive runs.

MCKENNIE IN SUBSTANCE

In midfield, McKennie put in his usual solid performance, making up for Thuram’s lack of precision in the first half and Koopmeiners’ hesitancy in the second. On the left, Cambiaso showed renewed vigour, looking far less out of sorts than in recent appearances. In Spalletti’s patchwork line-up, Locatelli stood out as a solid and reassuring leader from one end of the pitch to the other.

BOGA BENEFITED FROM THIS

The attacking trio benefited from the inclusion of Boga in place of the now-discredited David. As well as scoring the opening goal, the January signing started off quietly before finishing on a high note: it summed up the trajectory of his time at Juventus. Conceicao also performed well, though he was denied a second goal due to a controversial offside call against Koopmeiners. Setting aside that incident, which left him furious, the diminutive Portuguese player also produced some brilliant moments. And he was sorely missed when he was substituted for Miretti, who was lacklustre in the wasted opportunity to double the lead.

WHAT A PERFORMANCE BY YILDIZ

All in all, Spalletti’s Juventus deserve top marks. Not quite a 10, even though they looked like a 10+1 team. And that ‘1’ – truly one of a kind – was Yildiz, who put in an exemplary performance, putting his talent at the service of his teammates. He played on the left, as a wide number 10 rather than a central ‘false 9’. From his diagonal position, he was devastating in terms of creativity and consistency. Assist after assist. Dribble after dribble. Runs and more runs. Quality and even quantity. Without a doubt one of his best performances in black and white.

A "SHORT SNOUT" IS A GOOD SIGN

Spurred on by the young Turkish prodigy, Juve are on the move. They’re climbing the table and can take heart from a significant statistic: having conceded 20 goals in their previous seven matches (including those against Galatasaray), they’ve matched the clean sheet they kept against Pisa last weekend. A good sign. And if the 1-0 win over Udinese harks back to the old, but still valid, ‘short-nosed’ style, perhaps it is an even better sign. For Spalletti too.

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