Allegri happier than Mourinho as Juventus, Roma share the spoilsAt least, that’s what they said. Jose Mourinho described Roma’s first half as embarrassing, while Max Allegri emphasised the progress his side made.
I tend to believe Allegri here. There was progress relative to the turgid performance against Sampdoria and they created a raft of chances they failed to convert, other than Dusan Vlahovic‘s stunning free kick. I’m more concerned with performance than results and it was encouraging for Juve to turn in that sort of first half, just as it was nice to see Allegri putting his faith in 19-year-old Fabio Miretti and the kid repaying it fully.
– Marcotti: Allegri must watch his approach with fledgling Juve squad
Roma came back after the break — Mourinho’s system change had a lot to do with it — got the equaliser with Tammy Abraham (nicely set up by Paulo Dybala, on his return to Turin) and might even have snatched a win. I don’t think they were quite as poor as Mourinho says, but there’s clearly room to improve, especially in attack, where the right chemistry has yet to be found. At the back, supposedly a problem area with this top-heavy setup, there are fewer concerns: in fact, they have yet to concede from open play.
Modest goal and baby steps Borussia in away win
Anthony Modeste obviously has big shoes to fill: they belong to Sebastian Haller, who himself was supposed to fill (OK, partially, maybe just half a shoe) Erling Haaland’s. So it matters that Modeste got his first goal in Borussia Dortmund‘s 1-0 away win at Hertha, both for Dortmund — following that unbelievable collapse last weekend — and for Modeste himself, who is 34 and had a rough start at his new club.
Take the three points and hope for a better day. Dortmund carved out the better chances (Hertha have yet to win a game all season) and yet somehow still had to rely on some big Gregor Kobel saves to hang on to the win.
Right now, this is a giant work in progress, but there are encouraging signs in midfield — newcomer Salih Ozcan served up the cross for the goal and looked solid in front of the back line — and at the back (not just Kobel, but Nico Schlotterbeck is living up to the hype).
Tottenham stay on Arsenal’s heels near the top…
It’s fair to say we haven’t seen the best of Spurs this season as much as we’ve seen a solid team that still manages to create enough chances. Until chemistry improves (and you presume it will), it’s key that you get results and that’s what they’re doing. Against a very feisty Nottingham Forest side, Tottenham took an early lead and managed the game: a reliable, if a bit traditional, script for Antonio Conte.
That they could easily have won 3-0 on the road against an opponent who was playing well — Harry Kane‘s penalty was saved by Dean Henderson and they settled for a 2-0 win in the end — speaks volumes here about the efficiency of the system, especially since neither Kane (near hat trick notwithstanding) nor Son-Heung Min were anywhere near their best Sunday. The numbers support this too: other than a header from Ryan Yates, there were few dangerous moments for Tottenham until garbage time at the end. Meanwhile, with Dejan Kulusevski cuing up the counter, they racked up 2.73 xG.
