Juventus Needs a Sharp Attacker After Losing to Cagliari

CAGLIARI, SUNDAY – Once considered back in the Scudetto race, Juventus has had to admit that their quality still lags behind the other top three teams, namely Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Napoli. "The Old Lady" lacks a sharp striker capable of guaranteeing goals.

At the Unipol Domus Stadium, the home of Cagliari, Juve returned from the Island of Sardinia without bringing home any points, Sunday (18/1/2026). This is a very disappointing result. The reason is that Juve was expected to secure three points to maintain their competition at the top of the standings.

Juve suffered a 0-1 defeat to Cagliari, who started the match in 16th place. Midfielder Luca Mazzitelli took advantage of a set-piece situation to secure his team's victory in the 65th minute. That was the only opportunity for Cagliari after being pressured by Juve for more than 90 minutes.

According to Opta, Juve became the first team to record 78 percent possession and still fail to score, aka suffer a defeat. Juve's dominance was also recorded with 1.35 expected goals (xG) from their 21 shots.

Meanwhile, Cagliari only managed three shots, and their expected goals per game was minimal, at 0.11 xG.

We did what needed to be shown, but there were some moments that needed to be done better.

The best goal opportunity for Juve began with a precise shot from attacking midfielder, Fabio Miretti, in the 25th minute. With a goal potential of 14 percent or 0.14 xG, the shot was successfully stopped by Cagliari's goalkeeper, Elia Caprile.

In a disadvantaged situation, Juve had a significant goal opportunity from two forwards, Jonathan David and Lois Openda. David had a chance to score in three consecutive matches in the 73rd minute. However, his header from a corner kick situation was off target. This opportunity was recorded with a probability of 0.32 xG.

A similar situation was also encountered by Openda in the 30th minute. In a crossing situation, Openda's header in front of the goal also missed the target. In fact, that situation had a value of 0.30 xG.

In the midst of the team's attacking play, David and Openda failed to be clinical in finishing off the created opportunities. Playing for 88 minutes, David, who hails from Canada, only produced two shots, neither of which were on target.

Openda, who came on in the 66th minute to replace Miretti, did not pose a significant threat to the heart of the home team's defense. Openda recorded only one shot.

"We did what we needed to do, but there were moments where we could have done better. We shouldn't have wasted our chances, because every opportunity can change the outcome," Juve coach Luciano Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia after the match.

After facing Cagliari, Juve is set to encounter a series of important and decisive matches in the remainder of January. The two final matches of the Champions League group stage against Benfica and AS Monaco, followed by a clash with Napoli, are three tests of Juve's quality.

"It is difficult to analyze the situation after the match ended unfavorably for us. We need to fix the small things to face the upcoming matches," said Spalletti, who suffered his second defeat in 16 games managing Juve.

Amid the need to improve the attacking line, Juve is seeking opportunities to strengthen the offensive sector. The recovery from injury that Dusan Vlahovic is undergoing until the end of March compels Spalletti to demand the presence of a new striker.

Juventus are reportedly in negotiations with Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. According to Tuttosport, Juve have reached an agreement with Mateta's representatives for a four-year contract.

Juve is reported to have offered Palace a loan value last January, and then placed a purchase obligation bid of 28 million euros (Rp 548.43 billion) for the upcoming summer. An official offer will be made by Juve to Palace next week.

"We will look at every opportunity to strengthen the team," said Juve's Director of Football Strategy Giorgio Chiellini, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Palace manager Oliver Glasner has not ruled out the possibility of Mateta leaving London this winter. However, he reminded that Mateta will only depart if another club meets the club's demands.

"Despite having 18 months left on his contract, if the player (Mateta) wants to leave, an agreement must be reached. He will only leave if a team pays Crystal Palace's asking price," Glasner said, as reported by the BBC.

In this season, Mateta leads the list of goal scorers for Palace in the English Premier League. The French striker has scored eight goals.

The top scorer for Juventus in the 2025-2026 Serie A is Kenan Yildiz, who has netted seven goals. The striking duo, Vlahovic and David, have each contributed three goals. Meanwhile, Openda has only registered once on the score sheet.

Besides Mateta, Juve's target is to bring Federico Chiesa back from Liverpool. Spalletti needs more winger options who can move from the left flank to provide cover for Yildiz. Transfermarkt reports that Juve has a 60 percent chance of signing Mateta and Chiesa this January.