Scoring in 32 seconds on his Champions League debut, Vlahović proved his talent was amazing. However, in the next 90 minutes of the game, he could not really release his full energy. Vlahović, who had just two shots on goal, was trapped by Juventus' poor overall advancement. He completed a large number of no-ball runs on the front line, but the passing seemed to be a little untimely. In a way, Vlahović tasted the helplessness of C Ronaldo's previous days.
01. Personal advantages are huge! It took only 32 seconds to become famous in the Champions League
In this match against Villarreal, Vlahovic scored in just 32 seconds on his Champions League debut. At that time, he still used his own reverse foot right foot, and the expected goal was only 0.05, which showed the difficulty.
With this goal, Vlahović broke the record for the fastest goal scored in the Champions League debut set by Andre Müller in 1995 (it was 37 seconds at the time), making his name go down in history.
The goal could be seen coming from Vlahovic's keen spatial insight, who took advantage of the opportunity to switch between attack and defence, cutting in between Villarreal's two centre-backs, and then suddenly firing a right-footed reverse foot shot into the far corner at the moment when Albior and Paul Torres switched sides.
Vlahovic is very good at using his opponent's space to find opportunities, and as long as his teammates can send out the pass in time, the timeliness of his entry into the opponent's defensive blind zone is very good.
Unfortunately, this time Vlahović picked up his teammates and pulled the ball straight into the box to attract Villarreal's two centre-backs, but he wanted to heel a clever pass Morata but was intercepted by the experienced Albior. However, from the perspective of these 2 offensive moves, Vlahovic's selection is very smart and the movement is timely.
Facing a La Liga team, Vlahović, who has been complained about not being good enough, also has a certain advantage. This time it is still very exciting to open Up Foyce strongly, which also shows that his personal ability advantage in this game is huge.
Unfortunately, Vlahovic, who is in good form and has a clear advantage, is trapped by Juve's unsuccessful overall tactics and midfield advances, and failed to play the best results.
02. Every time I tried to run, I did 90 minutes of useless work
As can be seen from the statistics, Vlahović only touched the ball 24 times in the whole game, and completed 12 passes at the same time, successfully 10 times. The support he received was so small that he only had 2 shots on goal (although the shot was good, scoring 1 goal, and that shot was also very threatening).
Like this wave of counter-attacks, Vlahovic was ready to pick up the ball when he was facing the 37-year-old veteran Albior. See the first goal, if Cuadrado sends a simple straight, Vlahovic has a good chance of taking the ball and shooting at goal. The worst can also cross to Morata, who is vacant at the back point, and get an assist.
The disappointing thing is that Quadradorn was unable to deliver the pass, because there were too many balls, and he eventually turned the counterattack into a position battle point. Even the last cross was still poorly dropped.
As can be seen from the lens, Vlahović is very particular about the second movement of the position, as far as possible to make himself no more than Albior into the offside position (because of the perspective, you should still pay attention to the color of the turf under the feet, do not look at the upper body, easy to bring visual errors).
Even if Vlahović didn't touch the ball at that time, he only had to contain Villarreal's only centre-back, Albiol, and Quadrado crossed the ball to the back post, and Morata was also a golden opportunity.
In the case of Juve's single advantage in the front line, the full possession rate and the number of shots are lower than those of the opponent, the fundamental reason is that the midfield is weak, and the deployment of offensive tactics is too pale.
The counter-attack is not without a chance, Villarreal's defense is not without loopholes, but Juve even has an absolute scoring chance of 0 in the whole game.
Looking at this wave of attacks, it is a similar reason. Vlahovic had a keen forward thrust after seeing Morata take the ball. The problem is that Morata doesn't have the front-back attributes, he's not good at sending straight plugs or over-the-top balls.
After Morata split the flank, Vlahovic had a crossover with his forward partner, going to the front point and Morata to the back point. As long as the quality of the teammate's cross is passed, whether it is to find Vlahovic at the front point or to send the empty position to the back point is a good opportunity.
What is frustrating is that the front line running position has been very successful, the opponent's defender can't stick to Juve's striker, and the result is that this foot cross is not past the front point, which makes people cry and laugh.
03. Give strikers peace of mind to "eat the pie": It is the tactical duty of the manager
From his 13-minute Debut in Serie A on 6 February to his Debut in the Champions League in 32 seconds, Vlahovic's ability to score is unquestionable.
Similar to the Champions League goal, the debut goal in Serie A is also the result of Vlahovic's rapid forward thrust into the depth of the opposing defence. His personal style and characteristics are distinct, and all he needs is tactical support.
The Zebras under Allegri's tuning, the creativity on the offensive end is indeed biased, and the overall quality of advancement is not high, which is indeed a lot of scoring difficulties for forward players.
In the second half of the game against Villarreal, Vlahović had difficulty getting the ball in front of the field, and he was disappointed in a large number of running positions, while also having to take on the work of retreating back to take the ball as a bridgehead.
However, Vlahovich's strength is not outstanding, and he is not really a type known for his physique. This time he lost the ball after being overturned by the opponent, which was also the beginning of the team's loss of the ball.
In the end, the goal was conceded because of De Ligt's incomprehensible position choice. Under the three-centre-back system, the three centre-backs crowded into less than 3 meters of space, and as a result, the entire defense area of De Ligt was leaked.
Rabiot, who was in midfield, also did not notice Parejo's forward insertion, allowing his opponents to score with ease.
This time, Juventus ended the team's three-game losing streak in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 in the past three years with a goal from Vlahović. However, if the offensive advance and defensive position cannot be solved, the road ahead will probably be very difficult.
epilogue:
Buying Vlahović to wear the No. 7 shirt to take over the departing C Ronaldo, Juventus found a new scoring point. But even so, more support from the midfield is needed, otherwise the young genius will be lost in repeated ineffective runs and repeated physical confrontations. Vlahović is talented and would like to be able to use it more rationally.