January brought about a very disrupted month of football across Europe, with many leagues spending the first few days building back towards a return from their winter/festive break. We saw a few friendlies being played out as clubs looked to build back fitness, sort out their squads mid-transfer window and then the eventual return to proper action (aside from those away on international duty at AFCON/Asian Cup commitments).

There was a small exception however, as in Italy the football ramped up as the Italian decision makers have made it their mission to capitalise on the reduced schedule in Europe to make their sides play as much as possible, get more eyes on their product and claim all the attention of the footballing world. With not only Serie A continuing as normal, there was an added detour of cup competitions being played in Italy, further adding to the strange and disrupted normality of the usual schedule.

This months winner of the NextGoalWinner POTM comes from an Italian side who have taken advantage of getting a consistent run of games, and also their title rivals Inter being forced to take off for the Saudi based cup competition. Juventus have stepped up to the plate in January, and despite many from within the club playing down their title chances, it seems like they have put themselves into the conversation thanks to their results, led in large part by frontman Dusan Vlahovic.

The Serbian striker had a stellar month, playing in 6 games (4 Serie A, 2 Coppa Italia) and bagged 6 goals and 1 assist across those games. Helping Juventus into the Coppa Italia semi-final and to be within touching distance of the leaders Inter (but still not close enough yet for a full on charge), Vlahovic had a terrific month which takes the plaudits.

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Match By Match

January 7th: Salernitana 1-2 Juventus – After cruising to victory (despite an early scare) in the Coppa Italia against Salernitana midweek (in which Vlahovic made a late cameo with the game already won), they played visitors for the Serie A meeting as they struggled a fair bit more against the league’s bottom side. Vlahovic was provider for Juventus’ equaliser at 1-1 to set up Iling-Junior, before securing all 3 points with a 91st minute winner to avoid an embarrassing and potentially derailing draw. With 1 goal, 1 assist, 6 shots, 2 chances creates and 92% pass accuracy, Vlahovic was a handful as he led Juventus to the win. Despite Salernitana going down to 10 men at 1-0 up, Vlahovic took charge of the game to help bring about their comeback and claim all 3 points.

January 16th: Juventus 3-0 Sassuolo – With another midweek Coppa Italia cameo under his belt (as Juventus bear Frosinone 4-0), Vlahovic was in scoring form yet again with a brace against Sassuolo in the 3-0 win. Opening the scoring in the 15th minute before adding a second in the 37th, Vlahovic made things comfortable for Juve as they all-but claimed victory in the first half. Vlahovic managed to grab his 2nd and 3rd goal of the month, along with making 6 shots, 100% shot accuracy, 100% long ball accuracy, won 7 duels and managed 5 recoveries.

January 21st: Lecce 0-3 Juventus – It was a case of déjà vu in this win over Lecce as again Vlahovic bagged a brace, this time in the second half but in quick succession, as he opened the scoring in the 59th minute and then 68th minute. Making the game another comfortable victory for Juventus, Vlahovic proved his worth at the club with his goals and man of the match performance. Another game with 2 goals and 6 shots for Vlahovic, he managed an xG of 1.44, created 2 chances, had 100% successful dribbles and won 7 duels.

January 27th: Juventus 1-1 Empoli – In the final game of the month for Juventus, their 100% record was taken on the 27th as they fell victim to their own downfall, with an 18th minute red card for Milik making their job much more difficult, Vlahovic did however manage to open the scoring as he led the line solo. Juventus couldn’t capitalise on this however, or hold on as they conceded in the 70th minute to drop points for the first time in January, and give Inter a chance to extend their lead as they returned from their cup adventure. Vlahovic did have a quieter game as Juventus were without Milik for a large portion of the game, having just 3 shots. He did however manage to make it 6 goals from 4 league games (and 1 assist), while managing 100% shot accuracy in this game. A disappointing end for Juventus, but certainly a award winning month on an individual basis for Vlahovic, as he has ensured his side are in the hunt for silverware in the Coppa Italia, while also in with a shout for the league title charge.