Juventus had more than the obvious reasons to rue the miracles worked by Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini as they were made to dig into dwindling reserves during Wednesday's Coppa Italia final.
Most of the way through their utter dominance of Serie A over the past decade, Juve decided winning alone wasn't enough – certainly not if they were to become a preeminent force in Europe.
They needed a superstar and along came Cristiano Ronaldo. That was half the job and, fittingly considering their marque signing, the other part concerned aesthetics.
Increasingly in the modern game, the way in which a team wins marks them out as great. Massimiliano Allegri was certainly no arch practitioner of catenaccio but he was a coach of substance more than style.
Juve did not want pragmatism, they wanted a philosophy. After all, Gasperini's Atalanta – all intricate whirring parts – were compiled on a shoe string and scoring goals by the bucket load. Why couldn't the grand Old Lady have some of that?
And so, Allegri made way for Maurizio Sarri. A ninth consecutive Scudetto arrived via Sarriball but with little of the desired joy. So off he went and in came club great and coaching rookie Andrea Pirlo.
Charged with improving a bankable winning machine, Pirlo headed to the final in Reggio Emilia with Juve's Champions League qualification hopes now out of their hands. Admittedly, his board don't seem too keen on that competition nowadays.
The Bianconeri tried to match Atalanta stride for stride during the opening stages but they coughed up chances and were fortunate to see the best of those fall to lumbering centre-back Jose Luis Palomino – Gianluigi Buffon's early save so crucial to this 2-1 victory and the goalkeeping great riding off into the sunset with one last piece of silverware.
Duvan Zapata fired into the side-netting and made the first half an utterly torrid experience for Matthijs de Ligt. Juve were snapping into challenges and trying to roll with the punches, but much of the first half looked like a team in the season's latest fashion trying to match a catwalk model stride for stride.
Then a player reared in the Atalanta style opened the scoring. For Juventus.
Dejan Kulusevski moved to Turin from Bergamo, via an electrifying loan spell with Parma, in deal that could be worth €44million to Atalanta.
Whether that is a price worth paying after the Sweden attacker's goal and assist denied them a first major honour for 58 years is a tantalising question, but selling gems like Kulusevski and Manchester United winger Amad Diallo at huge mark ups is a massive reason why Atalanta head into the final weekend in Serie A guaranteed a Champions League spot for a third consecutive campaign.
They are an impeccably run club, and this defeat to a Juve in shambles will truly sting. The build-up to the 31st-minute opener was as chaotic as the club who scored it, but Kulusevski's curled left-footed finish was an utter delight.
The response to that artistic flourish came via the sledgehammer of Ruslan Malinovskiy's left boot after the brilliant Remo Freuler – who completed more passes (55) and gained possession (nine) more times than any of his team-mates – ransacked Adrien Rabiot.
At that point, it felt like there was only one winner, but Juve regrouped, re-established their lead and Atalanta's discipline unravelled.
There will be a lot of guff spoken about Juventus' DNA and such, although this victory owed everything to the younger more recently attached parts to this Frankenstein's monster of a team.
De Ligt came out the other side of his Zapata ordeal and produced a heroic and painful block to deny Cristian Romero when it was still all square, giving the Dutchman a more grizzled contribution to this win than the wonderfully weathered Giorgio Chiellini alongside him.
Kulusevski drew a sharp reaction stop from Pierluigi Gollini and Ronaldo's deft backheel saw Federico Chiesa hit the post.
Ronaldo seemed happy to play second-fiddle to the bright young things alongside him and they combined for glory, Chiesa coming inside menacingly from the left and exchanging passes with Kulusevski to score emphatically.
It was the sort of sleek goal desired to be a feature of the post-Allegri years and this piece of silverware should help a team in transition, even if the evidence of the season as a whole suggests Pirlo is not the man to lead it.
Buffon lovingly strapped his gloves back on to lift the trophy – the 19th major honour of an incredible senior career at club and international level – but this was a night that belonged to the players who will shape Juve's future. It is a future that aspires stylistically to romantics like Gasperini, however little comfort that might provide for him and his beaten players.
Colombia 2-1 Argentina: James penalty avenges Copa America final loss
Colombia gained a measure of revenge for their Copa America final loss to Argentina by beating the Albiceleste 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Barranquilla.
Nestor Lorenzo's side approached Tuesday's clash at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez five points adrift of their opponents in the 10-man CONMEBOL qualification group, but a deserved win saw them close that gap to two points.
Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera, who was later carried off injured on a stretcher, headed in the opener after 25 minutes, nodding into an unguarded net after James Rodriguez sent a delicate cross over to the far post.
Argentina struggled to carve out clear-cut chances in the first half but levelled just three minutes into the second period, with James' slack pass being cut out by Nicolas Gonzalez, who darted into the area before sliding his finish home.
James was given a chance to redeem himself just 12 minutes later, however, as a VAR review led to Colombia being awarded a penalty for Nicolas Otamendi's trip on Daniel Munoz.
James – the Player of the Tournament at this year's Copa – made no mistake from 12 yards, sending Emiliano Martinez the wrong way for what proved to be the winner.
Colombia almost added a third goal at the death, only for Otamendi to nod Munoz's goal-bound flick off the line, but time still ran out on Argentina.
Data Debrief: Messi-less visitors come unstuck
Argentina made light of Lionel Messi's injury-enforced absence as they thrashed Chile 3-0 last time out, but they struggled to create chances without their talisman on Tuesday.
They ended the game having only hit the target with one of their 13 shots, with a total expected goals (xG) figure of 0.9, in contrast to Colombia's 2.99.
Prior to Tuesday's match, Argentina had only fallen behind on the road in a South American qualification game once under Lionel Scaloni, when fighting back to beat Bolivia 2-1 in October 2020. There was to be no comeback this time around.
Carsley far from comfortable despite perfect England start
Lee Carsley still feels far from comfortable in his role as interim England boss, though he was delighted to see the Three Lions make a perfect start to their Nations League campaign.
Harry Kane scored twice on his 100th international appearance as England beat Finland 2-0 at Wembley on Tuesday, having overcome the Republic of Ireland by the same scoreline on Saturday.
The victory made Carsley the first England manager to win his first two competitive games at the helm to nil since Steve McLaren achieved the feat in 2006.
Such was England's dominance against Ireland and Finland that goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was only forced into one save across the two games, in the 11th minute on Saturday.
Despite his impressive start, Carsley – who is seen as a leading contender to get the job on a permanent basis – feels there is plenty more to come.
"I definitely don't feel comfortable still, I have been out of my comfort zone," he told ITV Sport.
"It's been enjoyable but we have to make sure every single day we are producing high standards.
"We've been fortunate enough to get two good results and it's all about building on that."
Pickford, meanwhile, has been impressed by the impact made by some of the new faces called up by Carsley, many of whom played under him at under-21 level.
"It is new and it has been a short camp. A lot of young lads won the Under-21 Euros with the manager and they know the ideas," the Everton goalkeeper said.
"t was refreshing for the older lads – I always want to improve. With England there is a pathway from the younger age groups.
"The amount that come from the under-16s and get opportunities to play for the seniors is there, and it has been there on the manager side as well."
Lille midfielder Angel Gomes was among those to impress on his full debut, becoming the first player to start for England while playing for a French club since Marseille's Trevor Steven in June 1992 (versus France).
Gomes had more touches (130) and completed more passes (116) than any other player, while only Jack Grealish (53) bettered his 42 passes in the final third.
Chelsea's Noni Madueke also made his first England appearance from the bench, replacing Bukayo Saka and making a swift impact by teeing up Kane's second goal.
"It was great to make my first appearance for the national team and I'm really proud of myself," the winger told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"It has been a great week, the boys are great and the staff and players have made me feel welcome.
"It tried to go out there and be direct and cause problems. I got an assist for Harry on his 100th appearance – it can't get much better than that. It is fitting that Harry got both goals, it is his night."
England centurion Kane 'hungry to prove people wrong'
Harry Kane has a hunger to prove his doubters wrong, as he celebrated his 100th England cap by scoring twice against Finland.
Kane netted both of England's goals in a 2-0 victory at Wembley in the Nations League on Tuesday.
The England captain wore a pair of golden boots to mark his milestone match, while he was presented with a golden cap before kick-off.
He is the 10th player to make 100 appearances for the Three Lions, though the first to score twice in their landmark game. Wayne Rooney and Bobby Charlton each scored on their 100th England appearance.
Kane took criticism for some of his performances at Euro 2024, despite winning the Golden Boot, along with five other players, after scoring three goals en route to England reaching the final.
And the 31-year-old suggested the criticism only fuels his desire to keep going at the highest level.
"It was a big night for me, really proud," he told ITV Sport.
"I want to score goals and help the team. Whenever you are doubted, it makes you more hungry to prove people wrong.
"I always back myself to score goals and I am excited for the future."
Speaking at a post-match press conference, the Three Lions captain later added: "I don't think I was even thinking of 100 caps when I was on loan at Millwall, Norwich and Leicester.
"At that time it was about getting back into the Spurs team. I have always had good self-belief. I have learned a lot over the years with Mauricio [Pochettino] when he was at Spurs.
"The game is evolving a bit and it is great for me to keep learning. I would for sure be proud if I knew I was going to get 100 caps."
Interim boss Lee Carsley, who became the first England manager to win his first two competitive games and keep a clean sheet in both since Steve McClaren in 2006, added: "Harry took his goals really well, a big occasion for him. Kids being here, an emotional night, but really happy for Harry. He fully deserves all the plaudits.
"What I have noticed this week is he is highly motivated to play for England and score goals and to have a centre-forward like that, hopefully it continues."
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has been trusted in his preferred right-back role by Carsley, provided the assist for Kane's sensational 57th-minute opener.
It was one of five chances the Liverpool star created on the night. Since the start of 2019, it is the third time he has created at least five chances in a game for the Three Lions, with no other player doing so on more than one occasion in that time.
"Trent backed it up with another great performance," Kane said of Alexander-Arnold.
"We always looked like the team who would break the deadlock. We spoke about being ruthless but in these games you have to keep knocking on the door and you will get your reward."
Carsley said prior to the match that he believes he can be the right manager to take England forward, and Kane hailed the impact the former Republic of Ireland international has had.
"The manager has come in with great energy, he talks a lot about freedom and attacking and hurting teams," added Kane, who is now on 85 goal involvements for England (68 goals, 17 assists).
"Of course there is room for improvement, but it's a great start for him."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
