Juventus 1 – Lecce 0: Initial reaction and random observations

RANDOM THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS

• A Juventus goal in the first 15 seconds?! *IN THIS ECONOMY?!*
• But seriously that was not something I expected. Good thing I may or may not have made the half-hour drive home from work a little above the speed limit to ensure I got home before kickoff happened. If I was a minute late, then I would have missed Vlahovic’s opener. But I wasn’t. Because I risked it for Juventus.
• In a way, I can’t help but think about how
• But hey, no matter how this game might have turned out, at least we were able to get Luciano Spalletti breaking the fourth wall and giving us this kind of picture to use in subsequent weeks and months …
• That man makes me laugh. His substitutions might have been a little perplexing and seemed a little too late (again), but at least his sideline swagger will never relent no matter what is going on. It’s the 72nd minute and Spalletti is messing with the camera guy? Maybe he knew his team had it the enture way.
• I sure didn’t, though. That’s probably the last handful of seasons of Juventus blowing leads against provincial teams talking. It’s nothing specific about you, though, Lucio. I promise you that!
• Spalletti certainly made the right call in starting Vlahovic, huh? There were some classic Vlahovic moments in there for sure, but that goal in the first 15 seconds sure proved massive.
• As did the Di Gregorio saves. I hate to think about what this game might have been like if Lecce had tied things up all of a few minutes after Vlahovic’s opener. Thankfully we don’t because of that first save Di Gregorio made. It’s not always going to be pretty with him these days, but he answered the call a week after he played a role in Hellas Verona getting on the scoreboard.
• That opening goal was pretty great, though. Props to Vlahovic for the slick first touch to control the ball before he shot it and shed his defender, props to Andrea Cambiaso for the assist, props to Spalletti for probably telling them to go right down the field and try to score. He obviously saw something that made him think something like that was possible.
• Kenan Yildiz clearly isn’t 100% right now, but it sure doesn’t help when Lecce players are out there hacking him at every chance they get.
• Yes, I am sitting here like you wondering how Manuel Locatelli came out of this game without being shown a yellow card and subsequently being forced to miss next weekend’s matchup with Fiorentina. That man was walking a fine line.
• Can Weston McKennie make it through one game without being whacked in the face by somebody on the opposing team? It’s happening way too often lately.
• Also, nice to see McKennie playing behind the striker for the first time in a few weeks. He is just so much better in that position as compared some of the other spots that Spalletti has used him in recently. He is one of the few who can connect the lines and make things happen. Basically he is what Cristiano Giuntoli and Thiago Motta thought Teun Koopmeiners could be and never turned out to be. Whoops!
• Francisco Conceição looked like Simone Pepe a couple of times as he tracked back and absolutely harassed somebody in a Lecce shirt who had the ball. Hell, the man also celebrated like a mad man after a tackle and while he was being shown a yellow card. Where’s this version of Chico been?!
• Still wondering how Juventus actually got a shutout in this game.
• Juventus struggling with their passing against a team that presses is a statement that feels like it goes back to biblical times at this point. It’s just so easy to predict.
• Juventus committed 2 1/2 times as many fouls as Lecce. That doesn’t seem great.
• Congrats to Vlahovic for being on a brace on Saturday night. It was actually for being part of goals that were called off, but it’s being on a hat trick nonetheless, I guess.
• I sure would like to celebrate goals rather than waiting for VAR. But so is life in 2026.
• In conclusion, it’s a good thing Lecce are not very good at all or else that could have been a lot different.
• Now, it’s time for a nap. Mostly because we have a whole lot of calcio to follow in about 12 hours. Gonna be an interesting Sunday on multiple fronts. At least Juventus won the day before.