Can Juventus fulfill their potential in this season’s Champions League, or is time running out?

When the draw for the Champions League was made, Juventus were the team to be avoided in pot three. The quality of the champions is there for everyone to see, but the start they have had, has not lived up to expectations.

Labelled as many peoples’ dark horses for the competition, Antonio Conte’s team had a tough opening fixture away to the reigning European champions. Chelsea are not the team that won the Champions League last season, despite playing a more open brand of football which has taken many by surprise.

Juventus’ tactical approach also made many pundits predict that they would be difficult to beat, but also difficult to outscore.

However, the game did not start as planned. With no Antonio Conte on the touchline, Juventus went two goals down, before fighting back to 2-2. But the result should not cloud the Bianconeri’s performance at Stamford Bridge. Quite frankly, they should have won. Juventus created chance after chance, but only put away two. Even up until the last minute, they were knocking on the Chelsea door, but the point, away from home in their return to the competition, was a good one.

The first game in Turin however, was a poor one. Shakhtar Donetsk was by far the better team. With their mix of Eastern-European brute strength, and Brazilian flair, the team from Donetsk dominated large parts of the game. Towards the final third of the game, Shakhtar had enough chances to bury Juventus and take all three points, but they lacked the sharpness in front of goal to take all  three points.

Tactically, any Mircea Lucescu team will be well-drilled, but Shakhtar exploited many Juventus weaknesses, and made them look very vulnerable. Compared to the Chelsea game, this performance was the complete opposite; in the first, Juventus were unlucky not to win, but the second, they were lucky not to lose.

The third game was the back-to-back games against the perceived “whipping-boys” of FC Nordsjaelland, in Copenhagen. Danish champions last season, Nordsjaelland showed a lot of bravery in their opening two games in their debut season. And they carried on that enthusiasm into the game with Juventus. For the third game in a row, Juventus went behind in the game first. However, Juventus came back with force.

With over 30 shots on goal, only a solitary equaliser from Vucinic saved Juventus’ blushes and a massive scalp for the Danes. Again though, Juventus’ weaknesses and lack of cutting-edge upfront nearly became their downfall. The pre-season anticipation and excitement for the European campaign was fast draining into a potential anti-climax.

Until yesterday’s game though. FC Nordsjaelland travelled to Turin, and were trounced. Juventus finally showed what was expected of them. Fast-paced, high-octane football and complete control helped them back into contention to get out of the group. Another positive from the game was the performance of Sebastian Giovinco. Giovinco always looked a threat against the Nordsjaelland defence, and took his goal with great precision.

Now Juventus must treat the home tie against Chelsea as a final. If, and a big if, Juventus were to win that, they could play a part in actively knocking out a rival for the trophy. Another reason for treating the game with such importance is the fact that travelling to Donetsk will be very tough. Shakhtar have a great record in Europe, especially at home.

Juventus cannot risk going into the final game needing a win. I expect Juventus to have learnt from the first game with Chelsea. They must suffocate Oscar, and make sure Juan Mata does not see much of the ball. In possession, Juventus must use the wing-backs to exploit the space behind the Chelsea full-backs, and try to attack the heart of the defence.

Only after this game must Juventus begin to think of Shakhtar and the knockout stages. Right now, it seems fairly distant. But another performance like the one against Nordsjaelland, against Chelsea, will get the Bianconeri fans excited that they can make a long awaited mark on the competition.

Follow Aran Sohal on Twitter: @AranSohal