Juventus: 5 players who must shine against Lecce

LW Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has been poor since Italian football’s return; there is no way to sugarcoat his performances. He was invisible in both Coppa Italia games, missing a key penalty against Milan. Ronaldo made his penalty against Bologna and did get into dangerous positions, but his instincts in front of goal were definitely off.

Juventus need their high-priced superstar to play up to his billing if they want to win Serie A, because Inter Milan and Lazio won’t stumble every week. The talk of Ronaldo’s decline is valid in some sense but premature in its exaggeration. He is still capable of playing at a high level, even if that level is below his standard from 2017-2018.

CB Leonardo Bonucci

Matthijs de Ligt has been Juve’s best center back since the restart, though Leonardo Bonucci has been solid in his own right. The duo were impenetrable against Bologna, but they will face a better cast of attackers against Lecce.

Filippo Falco and Riccardo Saponara are two talented players who can cause all sorts of problems with their movement in the attacking third, and it will be up to Bonucci to keep both men quiet by reading the play in front of him and cutting out passing lanes. Bonucci can make no mistakes in this game. Striker Gianluca Lapadula is another danger man, and Falco and Saponara love to slide passes to him.