Juventus 1-0 Fiorentina: Three Things We Learned

Serie A is shaping up to as dramatic, if not even more dramatic than it has been in recent years. There are so many clubs in Italy’s top tier that have stepped up their game this season and as a result, we’re getting some incredibly fun matches.

Last night we were treated to yet another as Juventus went toe to toe with rivals Fiorentina, eventually coming away with a late 1-0 win. It was tense, and there was a whole lot to take away from a clash between two of the nation’s finest.

Patience from Juve

Even with just 20 minutes left to play after Nikola Milenkovic was sent off, Juventus made sure not to panic. They knew that if they were going to be the ones who picked up all three points, they needed to wait for their moment to strike and really grind it out. We knew it would be physical and we knew there would be a lot of tension in the air, and the fact that Juventus were able to overcome it in the matter they did is a true testament to that inner “winner” mentality that’s disappeared slightly in the last few years.

Fiorentina’s resilience

One of the biggest improvements that Fiorentina have made in the last couple of seasons has been their defensive work. This year, in particular, they’ve been pretty hard to stick the ball past, and they exemplified that with a strong display against a Juve side stacked with talent. They eventually crumbled in injury time with Juan Cuadrado being the one to poke the ball over the line, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a lot to get excited about regarding the future and how far this team can go at the top of the division.

No top four for either?

As much as we loved the game, we aren’t convinced that either side is capable of actually finishing in the Champions League spots this season. They’re going to play a lot of their rivals very close and it’ll make for an intriguing end to the campaign once we get into the new year, but there’s a lot to work on. Juventus, more often than not, panic under pressure with this being a rare exception – whereas Fiorentina need to be a little bit more eager to pull the trigger.

If we were members of the top six, we’d be licking our lips after that game.