Injury-Hit Juventus Grind Out Ugly Win Vs Sassuolo, But Soon The Excuses Must Stop

“Winning is not important; It’s the only thing that matters.”

That phrase was first uttered by Juventus legend Giampiero Boniperti many years ago, and has become the unofficial motto of the club. It has been repeated by Captains, managers and Presidents, it has been displayed on banners in the Curva Sud and even embroidered on the inside of their shirts.

In matches like the one against Sassuolo on Monday evening, you can see the team embodying that creed, fighting until the final whistle to earn an important result in extremely difficult circumstances.

Desperate to secure a top-four finish and ensure they are in the Champions League next season, Juve headed to the Mapei Stadium with a heavily depleted squad. Injuries have robbed the Old Lady of so many difference makers, with Federico Chiesa, Weston McKennie, Manuel Locatelli, Arthur and Juan Cuadrado all sidelined.

Matthijs de Ligt and Dusan Vlahovic were deemed not fit enough to start, and suddenly the Bianconeri were heading into a vital fixture with a full-back (Danilo) playing in midfield, while two players who are out of contract in a few weeks (Paulo Dybala and Federico Bernardeschi) featured further forward.

Their opponents – a side filled with vibrant attacking players who always look to play entertaining football – certainly made it difficult for them. Sassuolo took a deserved lead through Giacomo Raspadori, only to see Juve fight back thanks to goals from Dybala and Moise Kean.

“We had some difficulties, it’s never easy away from home, but we picked up an important result,” Kean told Sky Italia shortly after the final whistle, before going on to add his version of Boniperti’s famous words.

“We believe to the end, that’s what Juventus teaches you, aiming to pick up all the points that are up for grabs.”

With so many key players unavailable, there is no doubt that the pragmatic approach was almost essential and that here, at this moment, the three points are all that matters.

Statistics taken from WhoScored.com show that Sassuolo dominated possession with 63.5%, they outshot Juve 22-10, but the Bianconeri won the match and tightened their grip on fourth place.

The problem is, Juve were playing the same brand of dour, negative football when all those players were available. Nothing has changed. The absentees are providing Max Allegri with a convenient alibi and even allowing the Coach to say he was “trying to bring home a draw” against Sassuolo.

“With four rounds left in the season, you have to win the games, the rest does not count for anything” he continued, before reaching his ultimate point. “Above all, people need to understand the moment we are going through. We cannot try to do what we can’t do right now, we have to focus on doing what we can do.”

Of course, at the start of the season he didn’t have Denis Zakaria and Dusan Vlahovic either, two players who have tangibly added real quality to the team, and perhaps even Allegri has recognised that these comments and excuses won’t hold up for much longer.

“The team has improved a great deal over the season,” Allegri concluded. “We need to keep working, bringing in two or three players that we need, but we don’t need to scrap everything and start again.”

So for now, Boniperti’s belief that doing whatever you must in order to win is fine. Right now “it’s the only thing that matters.” But this summer must also lead to tangible improvements in approach, mentality and quality, and that starts with the Coach, who will have De Ligt, Chiesa, Zakaria and Vlahovic available from the outset.

Hoping for a draw against Sassuolo will no longer be good enough.