A sweet cup for Juventus and a bitter brew for Napoli as Italian clubs split wins and losses across the Champions League.
Smit’s Thursday Espresso arrives as we wait for today’s Europa League and Conference League fixtures, with Italy’s Champions League balance perfectly even after the first two matchdays. Just like Tuesday, Wednesday delivered one win and one loss for the Italian sides. And so Juventus can savor a sweeter brew: their 2–0 win over Pafos helped them lift their heads again in Europe’s top competition.
Once again, though, the real headline belongs not to the scoreline but to Luciano Spalletti. Football is strange, but Spalletti is stranger. In his press conference he essentially dismissed Jonathan David, suggesting fans would need patience before seeing him start. Yet in the very next match, David was in the starting XI — and he scored. Juventus supporters now hope this could mark a true turning point for the Canadian striker, brilliant in Ligue 1 but still searching for consistency in black and white.
For Napoli and Antonio Conte, the espresso is much more bitter — nearly undrinkable. Conte still seems unable to find the right answers to his teams’ European struggles, not just with Napoli, despite thriving domestically in what feels like his own backyard.
Over 38 league games, there’s time to adjust and fix problems; in European competitions, everything moves faster. Or perhaps, like Michael Jordan in Space Jam, the moment Conte steps onto the European stage — outside the borders of Italy’s league — he seems to lose all his powers.
L’articolo THE SMIT COFFEE – Juventus Rise, Napoli Stumble in a Split European Week proviene da Soccer Made In Italy.
