As the minutes ticked by and the first half went on, I couldn't help myself to think that it was starting to look like the kind of night where Juventus had several chances not to miss out on one of the scoring opportunities. Will regret One after another, chances were created, but it would be fair to say that David Ospina probably didn't feel too much of a threat in the Napoli goal.
And what do you know, even as Federico Chiesa leveled things up upon his return to the starting lineup, I'm sitting here on the final whistle with the idea that it could have been a lot better for Juventus.
A game that didn't end the way Juve needed to win, Chiesa's goal was the only time Bianconeri found an extremely shorthand in the back of the net in a 1-1 draw against the Napoli side, which put up a hell of a Thursday. Night battle. As was the case, however, over the past few months we have seen the same attacking problems from Juventus which again became true in the first game of 2022 - chances were created, but the same chances were not put away. It didn't matter who he was - Chiesa, Alvaro Morata, Weston McKennie or even Paulo Dybala and Moise Kean in the second half - Juve managed to eliminate any of their 19 shots on the night. Inefficiency is a big reason why they are running away from this game with one point instead of three.
Think of it this way ...
Of those 19 shots, Juve hit all four. Eliminate Chiesa's goal, and Juventus put three of their other 18 attempts into the frame. That's not enough, and it's a situation we've seen over and over again this season.
As much as Ospina saw Juventus players running towards his goal, it's not like they were putting him under too much pressure and forcing him to save after save. And yet, the savings he had to make outside that out-of-where volley from Chiesa were all difficult. It was the kind of game where Juventus got the first half of the equation right, but the back end of things was wrong from the start.
And yet there were several close calls – which is a little extra salt in the wound.
God, if Diego Demme doesn't cross that Dybala into the box in the second half. Or if Keane is able to keep that stoppage-time header on the frame instead of sending it a couple feet over the crossbar. I could go on and on and on. Juventus had their chances, couldn't finish them because they are a useless team that needs consistent goal scorers, which is so bad.
Instead, it is who they are. And in games where they go 1-0 down and need at least two goals to flip the scoreline in their favor, it's always going to be a task.
They were halfway there on Thursday night. Finishing the job, however, was an uphill battle they couldn't quite overcome - and the kind of aggressive struggle we've already seen many times this season and to see again before the end of the 2021-22 campaign obliged.
I hate playing "what if" or "if only" games, but it's definitely something I'm doing right now. I can not help. Don't judge me, people. It just happens.