Juventus Player Ratings vs. Ferencvaros: Uninventive but victorious

Juventus were very fortunate to pick up all three points against Ferencvaros, but they got the job done nonetheless after a last-gasp goal from Alvaro Morata.

It took only about 20 minutes for the game’s first goal at the Allianz Stadium, but it wasn’t Juventus who struck first. Ferencvaros found the back of the net after Danilo’s unfortunate slip. Cristiano Ronaldo equalized brilliantly, but the game remained 1-1 and cagey right up until stoppage time when Alvaro Morata bagged his fifth goal of the Champions League campaign.

Juve won, but Andrea Pirlo cannot be happy with how his team played. Let’s take a look at the full player ratings for the Bianconeri in their fourth Champions League group stage match, which they won 2-1.

GK Wojciech Szczesny

The best goalkeeper in Serie A, Wojciech Szczesny looked anything but on that goal for Ferencvaros. He really should have done better against a shot that came right at him.

Rating: 5.0 out of 10

LB Alex Sandro

There was a big issue with Alex Sandro’s performance. He frequently lost track of Tokmac Nguen off the ball. He worked hard with three tackles and five interceptions, per WhoScored.com, but there are reasons to be concerned about him against better teams.

Rating: 6.0 out of 10

CB Matthijs de Ligt

For me, Matthijs de Ligt was the Man of the Match, even though Juventus did not pick up a clean sheet. De Ligt saved a couple of possible goals with his interceptions and wonderful blocks, including one late in the second half. It is not a stretch to say that de Ligt is the second-best player on the Bianconeri after Ronaldo. His return has been huge for this team, especially with the other injuries at center back.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10

CB Danilo

It’s hard to pick out any moments where Danilo struggled other than the unlucky slip, but it’s also difficult to find examples of Danilo playing particularly well for Juve. A rare off game this season for him.

Rating: 5.0 out of 10

RB Juan Cuadrado

Although Juan Cuadrado should have done better on Ferencvaros’ goal, as he, once again, let an attacking player get inside of him too easily, he was excellent for the team otherwise. Cuadrado was the workhorse and creative string-puller again, working tirelessly to create chances. And it is only fitting that he provided the winning assist to Morata, since he had been fizzing in dangerous crosses all game long. You can only imagine how many assists he would have had if the midfielders would have spotted his runs off the ball more.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

LM Federico Bernardeschi

Federico Bernardeschi was unlucky not to have scored a wonderful second-half goal on the volley, as he hit the post. After a strong performance over the weekend against Cagliari in which he was also unlucky not to score, a goal vs. Ferencvaros would have been massive. But other than that, to be honest, Bernardeschi was poor in this game. He was far too invisible and offered Ronaldo zero support. His movement off the ball continues to be head-scratching, as he often positions himself directly in between the ball and a defender.

Rating: 5.0 out of 10

CM Arthur Melo

An awful performance from Arthur Melo, which was shocking since he’s usually so good for Juventus. Arthur moved too slowly, and it was frustrating how many times he either missed forward passes or did not see good runs off the ball. He hurt the team with his defending and his giveaways, which created counterattacking opportunities with Ferencvaros. Arthur was, sadly, the worst player on the pitch for Juventus, and Andrea Pirlo needs to have a talk with him about cutting down on the useless turns and playing forward and faster. This isn’t Barcelona.

Rating: 3.5 out of 10

CM Rodrigo Bentancur

Rodrigo Bentancur defends well and does his job, but a player at Juventus needs to be able to do more on the ball and as a passer than Bentancur. At this point, I’m not sure he has a place as a regular starter for the Bianconeri.

Rating: 5.0 out of 10

RM Weston McKennie

It was good to see Schalke loanee Weston McKennie in the starting lineup, because Juventus need time to evaluate if he is a player they want to keep beyond 2020-2021. McKennie put in the work, but he didn’t look like he belonged at the Champions League level. He was a passenger in this game, but it’s fair to say that he wasn’t playing a comfortable role in the lineup.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10

FW Paulo Dybala

Along with Arthur, Paulo Dybala was the worst player on the pitch for Juventus. How many times have we said that about him this season? Dybala wore the captain’s armband, but he was so sloppy and frustrated with the futility of his pressing. The Argentine star was frequently offsides or passing it to players in offsides positions, and he had more mistakes than dangerous moments.

Rating: 4.0 out of 10

FW Cristiano Ronaldo

This definitely wasn’t one of Cristiano Ronaldo’s best performances in a Juventus shirt, but he still managed to come up huge with an absolute screamer in the first half. Ronaldo equalized by hitting a long-range, left-footed strike that had enough pace to beat Ferencvaros’ keeper at the near post. But Ronaldo also squandered a sure-fire chance after rounding the keeper. He wasn’t bad today, but he wasn’t consistent or involved enough in the game. In the latter case, most of that criticism should go to the four men behind him who were all poor.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10