Unbeaten but uninspired, fans begin to tire of draw specialists Juventus
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Thiago Motta’s reboot of the Turin giants is stalling even if they are yet to suffer a Serie A defeat. Sir Alex Ferguson diminished Arsenal’s Invincibles of 2003-04, who went an entire Premier League season without defeat, by accusing them of “too many draws”. What, then, would he make of this year’s Juventus? They are the only unbeaten team in Serie A, yet they have won just six out of 16 games.
![[Alexandre Hugeux had to stand in for the suspended Thiago Motta but the usual result followed.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8a5c217fa358b0039727d473a70528cc92e57a48/0_237_7166_4302/master/7166.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Saturday’s match at home to Venezia was expected to provide the seventh. Juventus had broken a run of four consecutive draws by beating Manchester City in the Champions League. Sure, Pep Guardiola’s team have been in a tailspin, but they are not the only ones. Venezia sat dead last in the Serie A table, without a win since October.
![[Juventus players hear the grumbles of their fans after the draw with Venezia.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/566177473de455ab9de1eb326052a1a81d771784/0_152_5518_3311/master/5518.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
This was a chance for Juventus to build momentum. Instead, they almost found a way to lose, blowing a half-time lead and requiring a 95th-minute penalty from Dusan Vlahovic to rescue a draw. The Venezia manager Eusebio Di Francesco described the result at full-time as “two points dropped”.
They ought never to have been allowed a foothold in the game. Juventus took the lead after 19 minutes, Federico Gatti jabbing home from close range after Khéphren Thuram headed across goal at a corner. Boasting the highest average possession share of any team in the league, the Bianconeri seemed well-equipped to keep a lesser opponent at arm’s length.
Venezia, though, did not panic, keeping their shape and waiting for opportunities to attack. With just over an hour played, Gaetano Oristanio cut in from the right and played a smart pass through the channel to Magnus Andersen, taking out three defenders. The Dane laid the ball off to Francesco Zampano, who crossed for Mikael Ellertsson to head in at the back post.
