Juventus vs. Nantes: Old Lady must improve and prioritize Europa ...

Juventus are one of the biggest clubs involved in the 2022-23 Europa League campaign and after the 1-1 draw at home against Nantes are still among the main candidates to win the trophy. Massimiliano Allegri's team had a good impact on the game but then the second half did not reflect what happened in the first part of the match. The Bianconeri, despite a difficult Serie A campaign and the Champions League elimination, need to consider the Europa League very seriously since it's their main chance to access Champions League soccer next season if they win the trophy. 

On Thursday, Allegri could finally count on the three big attacking stars as Angel Di Maria, Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic played together from the first minute and immediately showed why this is positive news for the fans. Di Maria's wonderful assist to Vlahovic demonstrated that the Argentinian player can be a fundamental part of the team in the next couple of months, considering that his first part of the season was heavily affected by injuries.

At the same time, the two other attacking players, Vlahovic and Chiesa, are now finally back in good form and the Serbian striker also scored his second European goal of the season. Due to injuries, this was only the third time ever they both started for Juventus. Chiesa's ACL injury affected his past year, while Vlahovic had a difficult start to the current season due to his groin pain issues. 

Another reason why Juventus can be considered a title contender is that their current Serie A campaign is full of obstacles. Most importantly because the club have been handed a 15-point deduction from the current standings and former club chairman Andrea Agnelli was suspended for two years from holding office in Italian soccer due to mishandling and manipulating transfer finances. Even if the club already appealed against the decision, Allegri's team are currently ninth in the table, twelve points behind the top four. Juventus will likely prefer to focus on both Europa League and Coppa Italia (they will face Inter Milan in the semifinals) to have some chance to play European soccer next season. 

Juventus had a nice end of 2022 that led them to be in the top four before the recent point deduction. However, Allegri still needs to improve his team, which has been too inconsistent in 2023. The Italian manager, who came back to the club in the summer of 2021, failed to win a trophy the past season for the first time since he started coaching Juventus. He definitely wants to demonstrate he's still among the best coaches around and winning a major European trophy would change the minds of some people that criticized him in the past months for the way Juve are playing. He's often criticized for a conservative kind of soccer and his desire to prove them wrong will be another extra motivation to win the Europa trophy. Juventus will now face Nantes away next Thursday, Feb. 23 with a spot in the last 16 on the line. You can watch that game live on Paramount+.