Stats Show that Juventus miss Man United star Pogba more than you'd think
It is little secret that Juventus’ midfield has been one of their main causes of concern since the start of the season.
Despite leading Serie A, the Bianconeri have hardly been impeccable so far, losing three league games, the last (3-1 against Genoa) revealing to what extent their central midfield lacks bite.
Though today’s press conference saw Max Allegri try to deflect attention from these issues, it is clear that his request for two summer signings at the position could well be satisfied in January.
As we wrote a few days ago, the Bianconeri are simply lacking an alternative to Paul Pogba, but it’s not as if they didn’t try, chasing down Axel Witsel until transfer deadline day, and trying to persuade PSG and Chelsea to sell them Nemanja Matic and Blaise Matuidi, though both clubs blocked any talks immediately.
The stats bear this problem out further: the Manchester United star’s long legs helped Juventus steal possession more often, with the Bianconeri getting the ball back a whole three times less per game now compared to last season (20 to 23 balls per game).
What else is on the decline? How about duels won (from 5.29 down to 4.74), as well as average shots and assists per game (7.21 to 6.79 and (0.68 to 0.57 respectively).
Last season, Pogba also had the most shots among Serie A midfielders (124) as well as shots on goal and assists (39 and 12), and was second only to Franco Vazquez in the successful dribbles chart (126 for the Argentine, 102 for the Frenchman).
