Juventus: When a defender steps up to play... as a striker

Juventus' top scorer last week turned out to be a central defender: Fabio Gatti. The 27-year-old found the net in both the Galatasaray (3-2 victory) and Roma (3-3 draw) matches, producing exciting surprises and showcasing coach Luciano Spalletti's player deployment strategy.

Gatti is a defender, but he is no stranger to scoring goals. In a career that started relatively late (at age 21), this player has scored a total of 20 goals, 11 of which were for Juventus. Many of these were last-minute goals that secured valuable points. Former coach Max Allegri once considered him a strategic wildcard to create breakthroughs, and now it's Spalletti's turn.

Gatti is still regarded as a backup player. He started against Galatasaray due to Juventus' necessary squad rotation, and in the match against Roma, he only came on in the 88th minute, replacing captain Bremer, scoring the precious equalizer just five minutes later to snatch a "golden" point for Juve. Notably, after entering the pitch, Gatti was mostly positioned in the opponent's final third rather than his own half, as his 1.90m height provided the physical presence Spalletti needed to pressure Roma's goal.

With their backs against the wall, most coaches would go all-in like Spalletti, but deploying a center-back in an attacking role instead of more attack-minded players like Vasilije Adzic or Filip Kostic remains a bold idea. That's typical of Spalletti. If he plays an attacking midfielder (Teun Koopmeiners) as a center-back and pushes a central midfielder (Weston McKennie) up front, it wouldn't be surprising. What matters is that it produced results.

The blunt and frustrating performance of Juventus' attack has forced Spalletti to constantly seek ways to improve their scoring ability, leading Juve to "fire" from all positions. The trio of forwards Dusan Vlahovic, Jonathan David, and Lois Openda have only scored a combined 9 Serie A goals this season, while defenders have contributed 12 and midfielders 11. In Juve's squad, only Edon Zhegrova and Emil Holm, who joined in January, haven't scored in Serie A. Defenders have also provided 9 assists, turning Juve's backline into... a potent attacking force involved in 21 of the 46 goals Juve has scored this season.

While all of Europe faces a shortage of quality strikers, Juventus is trying to persuade Vlahovic to renew his contract, albeit at a lower salary, as coach Spalletti must still cope without this forward due to his long-term injury.