Unbeaten Juventus end 2024 with another draw

Juventus hosted old foes Fiorentina in Turin and prevailed twice to end 2024 with success. However, both times they failed to defend their lead and another draw resulted.

The game was also crucial for their opponents, with Fiorentina having until recently been one of Italy’s most in-form teams, winning eight straight in Serie A, only to lose each of their last two games.

Those defeats to Bologna and Udinese added even more significance to a game that is always fraught with tension, and there were certainly plenty of participants with experience on both sides of this fabled rivalry.

Viola coach Raffaele Palladino came through Juventus’ youth system and made over 50 appearances for the first team, as did striker Moise Kean, who has already scored 10 league goals in this game.

Meanwhile, June’s team selection continues to be limited by the lengthy injury list, with Gleison Bremer, Juan Cabal, Arkadiusz Milik, Jonas Rouhi and Tim Weah all remaining unavailable.

How Juventus’ midfield pair impressed against Fiorentina

As discussed in this previous column, these long-term absentees will see Juventus looking for reinforcements in the January transfer window. Adding to these problems are problems with Andrea Cambiaso and Douglas Luiz, meaning Weston McKennie continues to play at left-back.

These factors meant that Thiago Motta was able to rely on a midfield pairing of Manuel Locatelli and Khephren Thuram, who complemented each other perfectly in this game.

Former Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic almost scored with a fine header, but it was the Bianconeri’s two midfielders who worked together to break the deadlock.

Thuram received a pass from Locatelli, darted into the penalty area and fired a low shot past David De Gea into the bottom corner of the net. Shortly afterwards, Italian international Locatelli blocked a shot from Albert Gudmundsson, but was unable to prevent Kean from equalizing with a glancing header just before half-time.

Thuram, who had not scored for Juventus before this game, found the back of the net again immediately after the break, firing home after a lucky deflection from Danilo Cataldi.

Manuel Locatelli shines again for Juventus

While Thuram’s brace clearly put him in the spotlight, it’s worth noting how impressive his midfield partner was throughout the 90-plus minutes of play. In addition to his assist on the opening shot, Locatelli created three more clear chances to score and completed a game-high 79 passes.

According to WhoScored.com, the 26-year-old was also active with three tackles, one interception and two clearances, consistently contributing to Juve’s cause both in and out of possession.

But that wouldn’t be enough, as in the 88th minute a blocked shot from Kean bounced straight to Riccardo Sottil, who equalized and condemned Juve to their 11th draw in 18 Serie A games.

With seven wins, Juve remain the only unbeaten team in Italy’s top flight, but as they sit nine points and five places behind leaders Atalanta, that was no consolation for coach Thiago Motta.

“We had to approach the game differently,” the Juve boss told Sky Italia shortly after the final whistle. “We handled the defensive phase well in other games, including against Manchester City.

“We need to be more clinical and improve. That’s where you make a difference.”

There’s no arguing with that assessment and Juventus will be hoping for a quick improvement when they travel to Saudi Arabia to take part in the Italian SuperCoppa in the new year.