Why Injury-Hit Juventus Only Managed A 1-1 Draw With Struggling ...

Mohamed Kaba of Lecce competes for the ball with Francisco Conceicao of Juventus(Photo by Maurizio ... [+] Lagana/Getty Images)

In ordinary circumstances, Juventus would go into a meeting with Lecce as heavy favourites but – despite the huge gulf between them in the Serie A table – the Bianconeri could only manage a 1-1 draw.

Indeed, Lecce arrived at this encounter having taken just 12 points from the first 13 games of the season, Marco Giampaolo’s men finding themselves just outside the relegation zone after winning just three of those fixtures

In contrast, Juve are chasing a place in the top four and hoping to mount a credible title challenge under Thiago Motta, an aim that has been hampered by a rapidly growing number of absentees.

The severity of the club’s injury list became most apparent during this past week, Motta only able to name four outfield players among his substitutes for the Champions League meeting with Aston Villa.

That continued here with no fewer than nine first team players – Vasilije Adzic, Gleison Bremer, Juan Cabal, Nico Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Weston McKennie, Arkadiusz Milik, Nicolo Savona and Dusan Vlahovic – all missing with various ailments, although the Juve boss refused to see it as an excuse.

“I have total confidence in my players and in those who will play in tomorrow’s game,” Motta told reporters at his traditional pre-match press conference. “Each one of us has to give our best to help the team: it is clear that in this situation we all have to give more. When there are more players available, they will help the team.

“All teams are suffering injuries, but I am completely focused on who is available at the moment, as we await the recovery of those who are not.”

The sheer volume of missing players forced Motta to call up nine youngsters under the age of 21 for the Lecce fixture, although four of them have been regular members of the squad this season.

In addition to Francisco Conceicao (21), Samuel Mbangula (20), Jonas Jakob Rouhi (20) and the brilliant Kenan Yildiz (19), five untested academy players were called up including some interesting names.

Alfonso Montero – the 17-year-old son of former Juventus defender Paolo Montero – is a regular for the club’s under-19 side. Joining him was the Captain of that side is 18-year-old left-back Filippo Pagnucco, who has weighed in with two goals and an assist this season at that level.

The absence of Vlahovic and Milik leaves the Bianconeri without a recognised striker, prompting Motta to add Diego Pugno to his squad after seeing the 18-year-old net six goals in 11 league appearances for the u-19s.

The other two call ups came from the Juventus Next Gen side who play in Serie C, with midfielders Christos Papadopoulos (20) and Augusto Owusu (19) both taking a seat on the bench against Lecce.

Despite those problems, Juventus should still not have laboured the way they did at the Stadio Via del Mare, figures from WhoScored.com showing that the Bianconeri managed just three shots on target over the 90+ minutes of action.

In contrast, their opponents managed six, despite having just 38.1% of possession and having changed managers during the November international break. Juventus hit the woodwork twice in the opening 16 minutes but the game was scoreless at half time, only for the visitors to score via a deflected effort from Andrea Cambiaso.

Some great saves from Mattia Perin followed, but even he was unable to prevent the eventual equaliser, Ante Rebic tapping home to ensure the Bianconeri were held to a draw for the third consecutive game.

“We came here aiming to win, not because we are Juve, but because we are certain that we are on a winning path,” Perin told DAZN shortly after the final whistle. “Lecce deserve credit for the way they fought back in the second half this evening, but we have fundamentally changed philosophy and we trust in that vision.

“We have to keep going. Difficulty is an opportunity, we need to prove that Juve can hold out despite the injuries, and this creates a sense of respect in our opponents.”

That is undoubtedly true, and the next few weeks sees a slightly easier fixture list. Perin and his team-mates will hope to see better results against teams like Bologna, Venezia, Cagliari and Monza in Serie A, while next week’s Champions League clash with Manchester City is a crucial clash for both sides.