Thiago Motta's Juventus look like Serie A contenders: How Old Lady's defense has led to rapid revival

The Bianconeri still haven't conceded a goal in the Italian league after six games

If you wonder why Juventus fans are falling in love with their new manager Thiago Motta, a lot has to do with how the Bianconeri are performing defensively. The Italian giants, after six games played in the Serie A season, still haven't conceded a goal so far and are currently 90 minutes away from the Italian record set by Cagliari in 1966 at the beginning of that season. They'll look to match that record on Sunday morning when they face Cagliari on Sunday at 6:30 a.m. ET live on Paramount+. 

Motta was appointed in the summer to start a new cycle at the club, as manager Massimiliano Allegri was fired after winning the Coppa Italia last season. The Bianconeri sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli wanted the former Spezia and Bologna manager after the Italian was able to bring Bologna to a historical Champions League qualification last season. In eight games in charge, Juventus showed incredible defensive solidity, while they are still working to become more dangerous in the last 20 meters of the attack, where they are still struggling a bit. 

If we look at the numbers specifically, it's impressive to see how Juventus are able to not concede almost anything to their opponents. Comparing their numbers with Serie A leaders Napoli (that played seven games so far, one more than Juventus), the Bianconeri only conceded 41 shots overall (Napoli conceded 74), while the ones on target are only nine in six games (Napoli conceded 17). 

It's also fair to state that the coach started with a solid base, as the Bianconeri were the second-best defense of the 2023-24 season under Allegri (31 goals conceded in 38 matches), despite ending up third, 23 points behind Inter. However, Juventus also struggled under Allegri as they were the eighth side in terms of goals scored (54 in 38 games for 1.42 per game). 

Juventus made a big revolution in the summer also in the defense, as they sold Dean Huijsen to Bournemouth after the Roma loan, Koni De Winter to Genoa, Mattia De Sciglio to Empoli, Daniele Rugani to Ajax, Tiago Djalo to Porto and Alex Sandro to Flamengo. At the same time, Giuntoli signed left-back Juan Cabal from Verona and Pierre Kalulu from AC Milan, but Motta was also able to work on some youngsters such as Jonas Rouhi and Nicolo Savona, who are now regular starters in the squad. 

In particular, the former AC Milan defender had a great impact at his new club, creating a lot of disappointments for the Milan fanbase, especially after the first performances of Emerson Royal. Juventus signed Kalulu from AC Milan on loan with an option to buy included in the deal, and there are big chances to see him staying at the club in the next years. Kalulu played six games between Serie A and Champions League, and he can also play as both right back and center back. He can become a key factor as Juventus and Brazilian defender Gleison Bremer suffered an ACL rupture against RB Leipzig last week and will miss the rest of the season. The role of Kalulu will become even more central, and it's likely that Motta will rotate him, Federico Gatti, Danilo and Cabal in that position to replace who probably was the best defender of the team. 

More than the players, Motta's vision is showing that players are not as important as the idea of football he wants to show. His attacking style, the positional rotations during the game and how Juventus are building up from the goalkeeper immediately showed a big change compared to the recent past. It's too early to know if it can bring trophies and success, but for sure Juventus needed a change and the solidity of their defense is showing that the direction is at least the right one.