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.
Dewsbury-Hall: Maresca will surprise people at Chelsea
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall believes new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will "surprise a lot of people" when they watch the Blues this season.
The Italian led Leicester City straight back to the Premier League as Championship winners in his only season in charge and succeeds Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
The Foxes topped the second division table with 98 points, with Dewsbury-Hall a key figure in his squad as he netted 12 goals and provided 14 assists last season – his best tally in a single campaign.
Dewsbury-Hall was also named Leicester's Player and Players' Player of the Year.
The midfielder made the switch to West London earlier this month for £30million and is confident that Maresca will have Chelsea challenging for trophies in no time.
"The manager was a big catalyst in wanting me to come," Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Sport.
"I knew from Leicester, a club that went down and had a lot of problems, how he managed to galvanise that if everyone manages to buy into the system.
"I genuinely think in a short space of time we can be pushing for minimum top four - but more than that.
"He may be unknown for a lot of people, but he is top, top level. He will surprise a lot of people."
Chelsea's pre-season got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a 2-2 draw by League One side Wrexham in Maresca's first game in charge on Wednesday.
Dewsbury-Hall did not play in that match but is training with the squad in the United States and could feature in their next outing against Celtic on Saturday.
The 25-year-old is confident the manager's tactics will come across soon, with the players buying into his style.
"We've only been doing it for two or three weeks, but the combination plays are really quick and tidy," he added.
"That's after two weeks. I remember he said to us at Leicester after six months or a year, there might be teething problems at the start, but it will improve.
"Within the first week at Leicester, I was convinced this was top, top level. I felt a bit stupid; I thought I knew a lot about football, but he was teaching me things on a daily basis that I didn't really know before. He has an aura, he can be strict, or gentle and soft - he has both sides.
"I am getting the same feedback here with the lads. They've bought into it here from minute one which is exciting. With a system and philosophy, you need everyone to buy in because, if they do, you can really achieve something."
Ederson slams reports of rift with Man City backup Ortega
Ederson has hit out at reports of a rift between himself and fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
The Brazilian was substituted after suffering a fractured eye socket in City's penultimate game of the Premier League season, a vital 1-0 win over Tottenham.
Ortega replaced him and made a brilliant save to deny Son Heung-min as City maintained their slender lead over Arsenal at the top of the table, sealing an unprecedented fourth straight title by beating West Ham five days later.
Ortega was widely lauded for his role in that triumph, and an article published by The Athletic this week suggested Ederson took issue with that praise.
However, the goalkeeper – who missed the Copa America as a result of his injury – has now moved to shut down those suggestions with a post to his Instagram story.
"I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false," he wrote.
"The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa America.
"At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title.
"But the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision. I remain focused on preparing for the season."
Ederson has been linked with a transfer in recent days, reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.
Slot's Liverpool success will be measured by trophies, says McAllister
Gary McAllister says Arne Slot must be prepared to aim high by targeting trophies if he is to be successful with Liverpool.
The Dutchman is set to begin his first season in charge of the Reds after being appointed as Jurgen Klopp's successor in May.
Liverpool enjoyed a trophy-laden spell under the German, winning their first-ever Premier League title, as well as a Champions League, a Club World Cup, a Super Cup, an FA Cup and two EFL Cups.
However, Slot was no stranger to success while at Feyenoord, leading the team to the Eredivisie title in 2022-23 before lifting the KNVB Cup in April during his final season with the club.
McAllister, who won five trophies in the two years he spent at Liverpool, says Slot's success will be determined by the silverware he collects.
"Liverpool is a club that's synonymous with winning, and when you don't win you fail," McAllister told Stats Perform.
"When there's a new management team, you're given a little bit more time, but the facts are Liverpool's target, I felt, and as a player that played against them for most of his career, the targets that Liverpool set, you go into every tournament looking to win it.
"You try to win every game and that's the expectation of the club and that's what makes it a very special club."
Klopp spent nine years at Liverpool, breaking club records as his team pushed for trophies on a regular basis.
The Reds enjoyed a club-record 68-match unbeaten run at Anfield over nearly four years in the Premier League between April 2017 and January 2021.
Klopp also oversaw three of the four most prolific seasons in Liverpool's history, including the club-record total of 147 goals scored in 2021-22.
Slot has admitted he has "big shoes to fill", but McAllister believes the 45-year-old will be able to live up to the high expectations left behind by Klopp.
"Arne arriving at the club, following Klopp, realising that it's such a difficult job anyway, but to follow somebody who's done particularly well at the club over an eight, nine-year period is going to be tough, and I don't think the new manager is under any illusions," he added.
"What I would say is he's a man that seems to be a very strong character, good personality, and he's just got to come in and be his own man and trust what he does.
"He's done very well in his previous managerial career and coming to Liverpool I feel is a natural progression in the levels of the game that he's worked at.
"So, everybody at the club will be deeply backing him and be right behind him, he'll have amazing support."
Liverpool's first pre-season game under Slot ended in a 1-0 defeat to Preston North End last week before the players flew out to the United States for a three-game tour.
They are also only one of two Premier League clubs yet to conduct any business in the transfer window so far, but McAllister urged fans to be patient with Slot while he gets settled in his new role.
"Whenever there's a change at a club, I think the fans have got to realise that it does take time for a new manager, a new coaching group to come in and get their ideas over to the players," he said.
"There's got to be a modicum of patience, but at Liverpool, expectation levels are very, very high and sometimes, in professional soccer, in elite soccer, patience is something that most managers don't get.
"As much as the fans have got to be aware that everything is new and there are new ideas, Arne and the players will want to get off to a quick start.
"I feel that this pre-season tour is going to help them start the season against Ipswich Town very strongly. I feel the games that they've got here in the US, here in Pittsburgh against Betis, and then we go to play Arsenal and Manchester United, the build-up is pretty good."
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