Juventus drew again, ending their Serie A match on December 30 with a 2-2 draw against Fiorentina at home. Juventus midfielder Khephren Thuram had an outstanding performance, scoring his first goal for Juventus and completing a brace. On the Fiorentina side, Kean scored, and Sottil equalized in the 87th minute. After the game, Juventus fans were disappointed with the team's management. Juventus made a mistake by trusting Vlahovic and letting go of a powerful center forward who has scored 13 goals in 16 games, shining in Serie A.
Juventus remains unbeaten in Serie A this season but has drawn too many matches with 7 wins and 11 draws. Currently, Juventus has played one more round than Fiorentina, is level on points with them, and is ranked 6th, 9 points behind the top team Atalanta. Last season under Allegri's leadership, Juventus finished third in Serie A, but after Motta took over, Juventus seems to have regressed in terms of league results.
In the match between Juventus and Fiorentina, Juventus' main center forward Vlahovic attempted four shots but failed to score, missing a great chance, with zero dribbles and zero key passes. He was successful in seven out of 18 duels, touched the ball 34 times, lost possession 13 times, and had a pass success rate of only 61%. Kean, who served as a substitute for Vlahovic last season, has shown his abilities this season at Fiorentina.
In this match against Juventus, Kean outperformed Vlahovic with one goal and one assist. He scored with a header in the 38th minute, while Vlahovic's similar header was way off target. Kean assisted Sottil's goal in the final moments. Kean completed three dribbles, was successful in eight out of 13 duels, touched the ball 30 times, lost possession 11 times, and had a pass success rate of 75%. Kean's rating was 8.2, while Vlahovic's was 6.5.
Kean has started 15 out of 16 Serie A games for Fiorentina this season, scoring 11 goals and providing two assists, including one penalty. Vlahovic has started all 16 games, scoring 7 goals and assisting once, including four penalties. Vlahovic's shots are often just brute force, lacking technique, and he rarely shows his ability to dribble with the ball. Kean is more comprehensive than Vlahovic and has a certain flair; he is superior to Vlahovic, and most importantly, he offers better value for money.
Juventus sold Kean for a transfer fee of 13 million euros, which is roughly enough to cover Vlahovic's salary for one year. The Serbian striker earns a pre-tax annual salary of 22.2 million euros and a post-tax salary of 12 million, making him the highest-paid player in Serie A, a typical case of high pay for low performance, not as good as Kean.