Juventus is a giant team. There is no need to argue with that statement because the Old Lady have won the Italian League nine times in a row. No other Italian team can do the same.
But now that statement is worthy of debate. Just two wins from the first eight matches in the 2022/2023 season is not a habit for a giant team.
Juventus recently lost again, Thursday (15/9/2022). A 1-2 defeat to Benfica in the second match of Group H of the 2022/2023 Champions League ensures Juventus have not earned a single point from the two matches that have been played.
For a giant team, the bad record is very worrying. Juventus is now on par with Maccabi Haifa, an Israeli club, who both have yet to collect points in Group H, but are one strip behind Juventus in the standings.
First time
Opta Paolo noted Juventus' misery this season, especially in the 2022/2023 Champions League. Two consecutive defeats in the group stage was the first time in the history of the Old Lady.
Juventus previously lost 1-2 to Paris Saint-Germain. Even so, Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri remains calm with this record.
"Things like this, something that happens for the first time, are normal in football. We just have to face it all because we can't lose two in a row," he told the club's official website.
The first experience
Not only Juventus, Allegri also admitted that two consecutive defeats was his first experience. Things like this are admittedly quite complicated to handle.
"It is a difficult moment in the Champions League, I have to admit it. We have lost two games in a row. This has never happened to me in the last ten years," he said.
"Although it's complicated, we haven't talked about this in the team. I have no reason to criticize the players. For sure we have to do something more than what we normally do."
Equal Opponent
Juventus still have four games to spare in Group H. The next two matches will face equal opponents, Maccabi Haifa.
Juventus will first be the host at Juventus Stadium, Italy, (6/10/2022). Then it was Maccabi's turn to host at the Sammy Ofer Stadium, Israel (11/10/2022).
Six points must be obtained by Dusan Vlahovic to be able to maintain hope of qualifying for the group phase. But because Maccabi is an equal opponent, Juventus still have to worry about the difficulty of handling these two matches.