Juventus’ win in Udine could prove decisive in the battle for fourth place, and it has also allowed the Bianconeri to move past last season’s points total at the same stage of the campaign. The trip to face Udinese was, on paper, the most difficult fixture in this stretch of games, at least until April’s clashes with Milan and Atalanta.
Luciano Spalletti’s side won and convinced at the Bluenergy Stadium, earning a hugely important result in the race for Champions League qualification. Juventus also know that by the end of this matchday they will have overtaken at least one of Roma and Como, who face each other. In the event of a draw, Juve, with just this single match played, would in fact move above both and into fourth place.
The comparison with last season
IlBianconero report how, with the three points collected in Udine, Juventus have moved on to 53 points from 29 games, temporarily overtaking Roma and Como ahead of their meeting at the Sinigaglia. Last year, at this stage of the season, the Bianconeri had 52 points, one fewer than in the current campaign. They had just lost 3-0 in Florence after the heavy 4-0 home defeat to Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium, and that match in Florence proved to be Thiago Motta’s last in charge of Juventus.
It is a very different picture now. Spalletti is guiding the team with the full backing of the club, and he can count on a squad that seems to be improving game by game. The atmosphere around the team is more stable, and the trajectory far more positive than twelve months ago.
How many points are needed for the Champions League?
The fight for the final Champions League spot is becoming increasingly intense, especially considering Napoli’s victory, which has allowed them to maintain a six-point cushion over Juventus and extend their advantage over at least one of Como and Roma. The margins are fine, and every result in this mini-league for fourth place carries extra weight.
Looking back at last season, 70 points were required to finish fourth – a position occupied by Juventus – with Roma ending up fifth on 69. If the threshold for Champions League qualification were to remain similar this year, the Bianconeri would need another 17 points from their remaining 9 games, effectively keeping up a points-per-game average just under two.
After 29 matchdays in the previous campaign, Bologna sat fourth on 53 points – exactly the tally Spalletti’s team have now. A win for Roma or Como would take either to 54. The current trend in the race for the top four therefore closely mirrors that of a year ago, suggesting that the qualifying mark for Europe’s premier competition will once again hover around the 70-point mark.
