Juventus again lost Paulo Dybala to injury in a disappointing 1-1 draw with Venezia on Saturday.
The visitors overwhelmed Venezia in the first half, dominating possession and earning a 1-0 lead at halftime. However, the second half was a completely different story, as tactical changes and substitutions allowed the underdogs to split points with their opponents. Sergio Romero was in top form for Venezia, making several key saves to keep his club alive.
Manager Paolo Zanetti ran out a 4-3-1-2 for Venezia. The formation saw American international Gianluca Busio playing as the primary creator and Thomas Henry leading the attack from striker. Milan loanee Mattia Caldara earned the start at centre-back as his parent club looks to possibly terminate his loan early.
Juventus responded with Massimiliano Allegri’s typical 4-2-3-1. Manuel Locatelli and Adrien Rabiot took the deep midfield positions, while Dybala lined up as the number ten. Juan Cuadrado played as the right winger, allowing Mattia De Sciglio to retake his role at right full-back.
After seven minutes, Dybala took the first shot of the match. The Argentine received the ball with space outside the box and attempted a side volley. The shot bounced into the ground and was harmlessly collected by Romero.
Later, disaster struck for Juventus when Dybala left the match with an injury after 12 minutes. Kaio Jorge replaced the midfielder, who appeared to depart with a non-contact injury.
Giornata 17 • #VeneziaJuventus#ArancioNeroVerde ?⚫️? pic.twitter.com/KpkEHcit9l
— Venezia FC (@VeneziaFC_EN) December 11, 2021
Throughout the match, Venezia struggled with the Juventus press. The Bianconeri were relentless, frequently dispossessing the hosts in their own half. The Venezia midfield was unable to cope with the pressure, and Juventus dominated time on the ball.
Morata earned the next chance for Juventus. After receiving the ball inside the box, the striker took a quality touch, giving himself space. However, instead of playing the ball across the face of the goal for the easy tap-in, he took the shot himself, and Romero came up with a big save.
The Spaniard redeemed himself minutes later by breaking the deadlock. A cross from Luca Pellegrini, playing at left-back, found Morata in the box. He easily volleyed the ball into the near-post, giving the visitors the lead.
Despite being outclassed, Venezia managed two decent chances before halftime. At one point, the club seemingly had a numerical advantage on a counter attack, but its lack of pace allowed Juventus to recover in time to prevent an equalizer.
Matchday 17 • #VeneziaJuve#ForzaJuve ⚪️⚫️ pic.twitter.com/ANRQRMXcXD
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) December 11, 2021
At the start of the second half, Venezia began to retain possession of the ball and attack positively. Henry had a prime opportunity to level the score with a header, but he sent the ball well wide of the net.
Seconds later, Aramu stunned the visitors with a brilliant long-range strike. Defender Ridgeciano Haps sent a wonderful ball across the box, and the midfielder struck it first time from the arc. The shot went bottom corner, giving Wojciech Szczesny no chance to make the save.
Federico Bernadeschi nearly opened his account with 25 minutes left. Finding himself unmarked in the box, the winger took a ferocious strike, but Romero again came up with a quality diving save.
Both clubs made several changes in the closing minutes, but the scoreline remained unchanged. For Juventus, it was yet another disappointing result in what has been an incredibly underwhelming season.