The first warning sign came in the prematch warm-up at the Groupama stadium in Lyon, France. Leonardo Bonucci did not like what he was seeing.
The intensity he expects, particularly on a Champions League night, was missing from Juventus' backups. To his mind, they were too casual, and he didn't hesitate to tell them in front of a crowd of 60,000 fans. When the game kicked off, the Juventus starting XI did not set a much better example. Adrien Rabiot wasted a 3-on-2 on the counterattack and never recovered. Passive defending from Rodrigo Bentancur allowed Karl Toko Ekambi to get in front of him and head an effort against the crossbar. An errant pass from Juan Cuadrado started an attack for Moussa Dembele that, lucky for the Colombia international, ended with the former Fulham and Celtic striker shooting over the bar. A misunderstanding between Miralem Pjanic and Bonucci let Toko Ekambi in again.
Despite several errors, Juventus can attribute the goal they did concede, which sends them back to Turin for the second leg down 1-0 on aggregate in their last-16 clash, down to bad luck. Matthijs de Ligt was off the pitch receiving treatment for a head injury when Lyon made full use of the extra man and scored what turned out to be the winner.
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The Italian side is right to question the referee's decision not to grant Cristiano Ronaldo or Paulo Dybala a penalty in the second half, but truth be told, Juve only have themselves to blame for taking an hour to get the measure of Lyon and find something close to a groove. Extenuating circumstances like Giorgio Chiellini's presence in the stands rather than on the pitch and Pjanic's lack of match fitness in his return from injury only go so far in excusing a first-half performance -- zero shots on goal -- that must rank as the worst of the season.
This had been coming.
Maurizio Sarri is under intense pressure at Juventus despite needing time to install his unique style of soccer. Will his time run out? Philippe Desmazes/AFP via Getty Images
Juventus have not played well enough over the past month to inspire confidence that Wednesday's trip to Lyon would be a piece of cake, and even when they have played well this season, the number of one-goal wins (16) mean it has rarely been comfortable.
The team is supposed to peak in February. It's designed that way, in a sense: The medical staff has made more or less everybody available in time, with Merih Demiral the only first-team player not on the short flight across the Alps. New concepts should be assimilated by now, too. Juve fans don't expect to hear embattled coach Maurizio Sarri say: "I'm having difficulty getting the idea across to the team that they need to pass the ball quickly." That will wash in August and September. It won't at this stage of the campaign.
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