Juventus vs. Fiorentina Takeaways: Sometimes everything goes wrong

Juventus lost 3-0 to Fiorentina on Tuesday night in what can only be described as their most embarrassing performance of the year 2020.

It took merely three minutes for Juventus to concede the first goal of the match, and then they lost one of their best players this season, Juan Cuadrado, less than 20 minutes later to a red card. Even so, Juve were still in the game for the majority of the 90 until Fiorentina put two late goals past Wojciech Szczesny to hand the Bianconeri a 3-0 loss at home.

Here are three takeaways from Juve’s worst match of the 2020-2021 season thus far.

Leonardo Bonucci needs to feel the heat

Leonardo Bonucci wasn’t the only starter who played poorly for Juventus on Tuesday, but his errors were the most glaring. There were a couple of giveaways that could have been punished by Fiorentina, but it wasn’t until Martin Caceres hit home with a poacher’s finish that Bonucci’s mistake was truly capitalized upon.

It was a woeful performance from Bonucci, who spent more time yelling than actually defending. Is that all he offers at this point? Bonucci’s decline has been evident, and he is almost always the culprit when the Bianconeri have a poor game defensively. Merih Demiral, comparatively, has a brighter future and has played better than Bonucci this season. It may be time for Juve to consider making a chance that many fans have been wanting to see for months.

Everything went wrong

We can sit here and blame the referees and wonder how Borja Valero did not get sent off, but blaming the officiating is a cop-out. Juventus deserved to lose on the strength of their play. They were wasteful in the final third, horrendous in midfield, and absent-minded in defense. This team did not even look like the third-place team in Serie A, which is still below where the Bianconeri need to be.

But we have to keep in mind that there are matches like this where almost everyone is culpable in the loss. So the likes of Matthijs de Ligt and Weston McKennie who did not play well should not be criticized too harshly, and we should not make exaggerated claims. However, for the players who have been shaky this season, such as Bonucci and Rodrigo Bentancur, this loss is a wake-up call to Andrea Pirlo that they should be on a short leash.

Cristiano Ronaldo can only take Juventus so far

For my money, Cristiano Ronaldo was the only player on Juventus who truly played well on Matchday 14. According to WhoScored.com, the world-class forward recorded eight dribbles completed and three key passes, and he was clearly the main attacking force attempting to create goal-scoring opportunities. He did not find the back of the net, but he came close and was active on the ball throughout.

This loss to Fiorentina is a reminder that no matter how good Ronaldo is, he can’t do it all on his own. Federico Chiesa tried his best, but his quality was lacking. So in terms of both effort and quality, only Ronaldo showed up in this match, and that’s simply unacceptable. A club like Juventus needs to have multiple midfielders and forwards playing well.

Alvaro Morata has been a big boost to Juventus, and a healthy Paulo Dybala means a lot to this team, too. But to be honest, Juve still have a major issue with asking too much from Ronaldo. It is getting to the point where it may be impossible for him to deliver. One player alone cannot save a team or lift a team to the loftiest of aspirations.