Juventus: The 3 most disappointing players in 2020-21 thus far
Although there are far more positives than negatives for Juventus in the 2020-2021 season, the club is sitting behind Inter and AC Milan in the Serie A table as the league’s third-place team. So while most players have met or exceeded expectations, there are a few players who have not quite measured up this season.
Let’s take a look at the three most disappointing Juventus players.
FW Paulo Dybala
We begin with Paulo Dybala, whose season has been derailed by two separate injuries. When on the pitch, Dybala has been far from an impact player, failing to make an impression in the Champions League, especially.
Dybala made five appearances in the group stages of Europe’s marquee competition, including two starts, scoring one lucky goal against Ferencvaros and doing little else. He could not create nor beat defenders.
He has been a little bit better in Serie A with four goal contributions across 647 minutes, showing glimpses of his star power before his most recent injury. So there is hope that La Joya can be world-class when he returns, just as he was in the 2019-2020 league campaign.
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Dybala hasn’t been as bad as people stated a few months ago, but we have to write him down as a disappointment on the strength of his play thus far.
FW/AM Federico Bernardeschi
Federico Bernardeschi, in theory, should be the best fit for the starting left midfielder role in Andrea Pirlo’s 4-4-2. It is the main weakness in the lineup when everyone is healthy, since there is no clear candidate to play there. Pirlo has to shift Federico Chiesa as an inverted wide midfielder or split Aaron Ramsey or Weston McKennie out wide into this unideal position.
But the reality is that those three tactical misfit options have been more effective than Bernardeschi, who remains Juve’s worst player. He has been mostly relegated to a bench role with three starts and 16 total appearances, logging 425 minutes in Serie A with one assist and no goals.
Bernardeschi may not have the technical ability necessary to play significant minutes at Juventus. The club has tried to use him as a trade piece in a player swap, but he has no intention of leaving. Unfortunately, he has yet to show any signs of turning it around for the Bianconeri.
CM Adrien Rabiot
Since there is a limited selection of players, Adrien Rabiot is the third most disappointing player by default. I considered floating around Aaron Ramsey, but he has five goal contributions in Serie A and has mostly been hurt by either playing in an unfamiliar position or by being injured. With Paulo Dybala already on this list, it would have been unfair to name two attacking-minded players whose seasons have been blighted by injury.
Rabiot isn’t a bad player by any means, but that’s not a statement that qualifies as an endorsement as far as Juventus is concerned. The reality is that outside of a few hot streaks, Rabiot has been inconsistent and has not shown the level of quality required to be a starter for the Black and Whites.
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The 25-year-old French midfielder has one goal and zero assists, and fewer than 0.5 key passes per game, according to WhoScored.com. He is an above-average defensive presence, but with his lack of attacking or passing involvement (eight players are averaging more passes per game this season), he is not offering Juventus nearly enough.