Juventus Vs Sporting CP [1–1] – Champions League 2025/2026: Early Signs Of Luciano Spalletti Rebuild – Tactical Analysis

Juventus met Sporting CP for the fourth fixture of the UEFA Champions League in a game that ended with a 1-1 draw.

The draw can be considered positive for Sporting CP, as the Portuguese side was able to secure one point from a complicated away game, despite being capable of adding a second winning goal as well.

What makes the draw not as painful as it couldve been for Juve is the fact that Sporting Lisbon have won two games and lost only one, which has allowed them to reach seven points so far.

We cannot say the same for Juventus, as the draw complicates their situation further.

Juventus have yet to win a Champions League game, with one loss and two draws, before adding another draw against Sporting to reach three points overall.

That said, the Juventus performance was convincing since it witnessed a remarkable improvement and changes compared to their latest games, and that is what keeps the fans optimistic about I Bianconeri’s European and domestic journey this season.

In this tactical analysis of the match between Juventus vs Sporting CP, the aim is to explore the impact of new head coach Luciano Spalletti on the team and his most notable tactical changes.

The analysis will look mainly at Teun Koopmeiners’ change of position, Dušan Vlahović’s heavy presence inside the box, and Francisco Conceição’s remarkable contribution in playmaking.

Juventus Vs Sporting CP Formations & Lineups

Spalletti started the match using the 3-4-2-1 formation, with Michele Di Gregorio as the goalkeeper, and Pierre Kalulu, Federico Gatti, and Koopmeiners as centre-backs.

The midfield consisted of Manuel Locatelli and Khéphren Thuram as central midfielders, with both Weston McKennie and Andrea Cambiaso as wing-backs.

Up front, Juventus attacked with both Conceição and Yıldız as advanced playmakers who switched to become wingers whenever needed, with Vlahović as the main striker.

For Sporting CP, Rui Borges used a 4-2-3-1 formation with Rui Silva as the goalkeeper, Georgios Vagiannidis as the right-back, Ousmane Diomande and Gonçalo Inácio as centre-backs, and Maximiliano Araújo as the left-back.

The midfield was composed of João Simões and Morten Hjulmand as central midfielders, with both Geovany Quenda and Pedro Gonçalves as wingers, Francisco Trincão as an advanced playmaker, and Fotis Ioannidis as the team’s main striker.

Teun Koopmeiners Vs Sporting CP

Teun Koopmeiners In Defence 

Spalletti made a surprising tactical change for his second match with Juventus by switching Koopmeiners’ position from midfield to defence.

This was a risky yet intelligent move that saw the Dutch international take on entirely different roles from those he was accustomed to.

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