Juventus: 3 players who must step up after loss to Napoli
Juventus have only a couple of days to regroup before their first Champions League knockout fixture against FC Porto. They’ll want to rebound after a listless performance in a 1-0 defeat to Napoli at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Let’s take a look at three players who need to step up for the Bianconeri after the loss to Napoli.
FW Alvaro Morata
Alvaro Morata has been an important player for Juventus this season. He has four goals and seven assists in Serie A, providing a lot of quality service for star forward Cristiano Ronaldo. But he’s been even better as a scorer in the Champions League for the Bianconeri with six goals in five starts.
The Atletico Madrid loanee was awfully quiet against Napoli after providing assists in Juve’s previous two Serie A fixtures. As a goal-scorer, Morata has been a nonfactor in 2021 with no goals in his last league matches.
Morata will need to be excellent against FC Porto and get back to his scoring ways in the Champions League’s return.
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CM Rodrigo Bentancur
It is getting difficult to predict which version of Rodrigo Bentancur will show up on the pitch for Juventus. Sometimes, he is in command and in control at the heart of the park for the Bianconeri, spraying passes and keeping possession for his team while playing his usually-solid defense.
Then there are times when he looks too small for the moment and struggles, particularly against stronger opposition like Milan and now Napoli. Bentancur’s lack of security in possession is worrisome against better opponents, and with Arthur out, it’s anyone’s guess as to what we’ll see from the Uruguayan this Tuesday at Porto.
Juventus need Bentancur to take consistent steps forward in 2020-2021. They need to know if they can rely on Bentancur as a starter and a big-game player, because he’s honestly falling short this season.
LB Alex Sandro
Juan Cuadrado’s injury means that Juve will likely line up with Alex Sandro at left back and Danilo on the opposite defensive flank in Andrea Pirlo’s preferred 4-4-2 setup.
Sandro has been solid defensively in recent weeks, but he generally does not offer much attacking threat. Alvaro Morata has not scored since Dec. 20 in Serie A, and Sandro, likewise, has not recorded multiple dribbles in a match since that date. In that time span of five league matches, Alex Sandro also has a mere three key passes, according to WhoScored.com.
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He must offer more as an attacker going forward, especially against his former club, Porto, in the Champions League this week. Cuadrado’s absence means that one of Sandro or Danilo must step up in an attacking sense, and Pirlo will have to look to the left back first.