Juventus Player Ratings from the away defeat to Napoli

Juventus lost their first game in Serie A since that 2-0 defeat to Inter Milan.

On the Matchday 22 of the Serie A 2020-21 campaign, Napoli hosted Juventus in the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. The Old Lady were seven points adrift of league-leaders Inter Milan prior to the game.

Andrea Pirlo opted to field his side in a usual 4-4-2 formation, with Bentancur and Bernardeschi replacing Weston McKennie and an injured Arthur Melo respectively at the heart of the midfield. The rest was the same from Juve’s 2-0 win over AS Roma last weekend.

Here’s how much the Juventus players justified their selection on Saturday.

GK: Wojciech Szczesny (5.5/10)

The Bianconeri No.1 had very little to do against a pragmatic Napoli side. The only time he might have felt the pressure was when Lorenzo Insigne converted the penalty to break the deadlock. Other than that, Szczesny had to make only one save during the entirety of the game.

RB: Juan Cuadrado (4/10)

It was not an ideal night for the Colombian international. He lost possession eight times during the first forty-five minutes of the game. He was subbed out for the second half due to an injury. Pirlo brought in Alex Sandro, who occupied the left-back spot in the second half. And Danilo returned to his customary right-back position.

RCB: Matthijs De Ligt (5/10)

It was a quiet night for the Dutch international as he came up against a defensive-minded and well-drilled Napoli eleven. He got success in accomplishing 84 passes from 93 and also delivering 4 correct long balls.

LCB: Giorgio Chiellini (5.5/10)

One might accuse Chiellini of being the culprit for this narrow defeat. However, his overall gameplay was not as appalling as some of the other members of the group. His hand accidentally caught the face of Napoli defender Amir Rrahmani, resulting in the referee handing the host a penalty kick with the help of VAR. And that incident changed the course and the scoreline of the match.

LB: Danilo (5.5/10)

Starting the match on the left side of the defence, Danilo moved to the right when Alex Sandro entered the field at half-time. The Brazilain made some serious contributions defensively, winning 5 ground duels out of 9 attempted and completed three tackles.

DM: Rodrigo Bentancur (5.5/10)

Bentancur started the game in a very astute manner, dictating the flow from deep and sometimes getting in between the centre-backs to make a three-man defence during Juve’s build-up plays. Despite getting substituted at the 72nd-minute by Dejan Kulusevski, the Uruguayan completed 47 passes with an accuracy of 90 per cent.

RM: Federico Bernardeschi (4/10)

Having replaced McKennie from Juve’s last weekend’s victory over Roma, Bernardeschi started on the right side of the pitch. But right after Pirlo brought Alex Sandro on the back of the half-time, Bernardeschi made a switch to the left side of the midfield.

The 26-year-old, who was on the pitch for 63 minutes on Saturday, might have been one of the worst players for Juve, if not the worst.

He was involved in losing the ball 14 times on the night. Other than him attempting three key passes, there are not many positive aspects to talk about his tonight’s performance.

CM: Adrien Rabiot (5.5/10)

Even though it was not a result any Juventini would have wanted, Rabiot’s performance had that spark which was missing in some others. Rabiot was playing particularly as a box-to-box midfielder.

And consequently, the way he covered a large area of the pitch might have been alluring to Juventus supporters. His tonight’s performance surely makes a bold claim on him getting involved more regularly within the Juventus starting eleven in the presence of Arthur.

LM: Federico Chiesa (6/10)

Chiesa was the most versatile player for Juve on Saturday. He started the game from left, then went to right following the half-time, and came back to left during the later stage of the game. While playing on the right, he was looking to make something happen. He kept a 100 per cent accuracy while attempting four long balls. Besides, he made four key passes on the night.

ST: Cristiano Ronaldo (4.5/10)

It was a wasteful outing for Cristiano Ronaldo. He had four shots on target this time. But Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret was equal to every threat presented by the Portuguese talisman. He was nowhere near the standard he has set himself at Juventus. Nevertheless, Ronaldo was just a particle in what a collective failure for Pirlo’s men.

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ST: Alvaro Morata (4.5/10)

Morata tried, tried, and kept trying. But the desired goal never arrived. Just like the rest of the frontline, he seemed toothless in the middle of a robust Napoli defence. Like Ronaldo, he missed one big chance. But the Spaniard made four key passes on an ominous night for the Turin faithful.

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