A depleted Juventus now travel to Monza without Arkadiusz Milik too, who rather comically received a second yellow card a few moments after scoring the ‘winner’ that was eventually disallowed.
Monza
It was a game of firsts for Monza against Lecce last time out (1-1), as they picked up their maiden Serie A point courtesy of Stefano Sensi’s very first direct free-kick goal in Serie A, which was also Monza’s first-ever top-flight away goal. However, not even that historic point could prevent the axe falling on coach Giovanni Stroppa, with Monza owner Silvio Berlusconi insisting he would have to fix Monza’s tactical issues personally! Raffaele Palladino will take interim charge of the team, and with safety being the main goal for Monza in their first-ever Serie A season, another point here against Italian giants, and one of Palladino’s former clubs, Juventus, would undoubtedly be considered as a success.
The size of this task ahead cannot be understated, and even a raucous home crowd may not help Monza given they have lost each of their three Serie A home matches so far, conceding beyond the hour mark in all three games.
Juventus
A contentious VAR decision cost Juventus a sensational comeback victory over Salernitana in their last Serie A match (2-2) and led to a mass brawl, which resulted in Juan Cuadrado and coach Massimiliano Allegri receiving a red card. A depleted Juventus now travel to Monza without Arkadiusz Milik too, who rather comically received a second yellow card a few moments after scoring the ‘winner’ that was eventually disallowed. Four draws from the opening six Serie A rounds sees Juventus remain unbeaten on the league front this season. Still, the fact that the Old Lady are winless in their last five competitive away matches almost diffuses the mood in the visitors’ camp. Wednesday’s 1-2 defeat in the UEFA Champions League against Benfica only confirmed Juventus fans’ concerns, with a portion of the fan base now asking for Allegri to be dismissed.
Sensi has scored seven of his ten career Serie A goals in the first half, including the last six in a row. At the same time, the reliable Leonardo Bonucci became only the sixth ever defender to score in ten consecutive Serie A campaigns with Juve’s equaliser against Salernitana. Juventus have drawn four of their last eight SA away matches against newly promoted teams 1-1.