Three Juventus concerns after third consecutive 0-0 draw in Serie A | OneFootball

Thiago Motta has issues to resolve surrounding striker Dusan Vlahovic, summer signing Douglas Luiz and captain Danilo after recording a third consecutive goalless draw in Serie A with their 0-0 against Antonio Conte’s Napoli on Saturday evening.

Juventus began the 2024-25 campaign in emphatic fashion, securing back-to-back 3-0 wins over Como and Hellas Verona, but have not scored in their last three league matches, being held by Roma, Empoli and Napoli.

Three Juventus concerns after third 0-0 in a row

The positive news for Juventus is that they currently possess the best defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues, with zero conceded across their first five league matches of the season.

Part of the concerns, however, is the lack of form in front of goal, particularly from centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic.

The Serbian has not scored since his brace in the 3-0 win over Verona back in August. Including the Champions League win over PSV, Vlahovic has not scored in four games and his tally of two goals from six matches is the second-worst of his Serie A career to date.

After a quiet opening 45 against Napoli on Saturday, Thiago Motta opted to replace Vlahovic at half-time, as if to admit that it had not worked with the Serbian in the side.

The second concern for Juventus is the lack of form from summer signing Douglas Luiz. At a total cost of €50m, the Brazilian was the second most expensive signing of the summer in Serie A, only behind Juve’s purchase of Teun Koopmeiners from Atalanta.

The former Aston Villa midfielder joined the Bianconeri squad late in the summer after his participation in the Copa America with Brazil, but he has since only registered one start for his new club.

The game that he did start, a 0-0 draw against Empoli, ended after 66 minutes and resulted in unfavourable reviews from the Italian press. Thiago Motta needs to get more out of his expensive new midfielder.

There are also concerns for club captain Danilo, who has earned just five minutes of Serie A action so far this term. He has had to settle for an unused substitute role in four out of the five league matches so far this season.

There have been injury concerns, but La Gazzetta dello Sport point out that he is now third-choice in his favoured position, behind summer signing Pierre Kalulu and Next Gen graduate Nicolo Savona.

Thiago Motta now have a week of training to fix some of his teething issues at Juventus, before the trip to Genoa in Serie A on Saturday afternoon.