Juventus Player Ratings from a dreadful loss against Porto

Juventus can consider themselves fortunate to have only lost by a margin of one goal. On the road against FC Porto in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, the Bianconeri were well and truly awful.

They were out of ideas in the attack, sloppy in defense, and thoroughly outclassed by the home side. The only positive was the lone goal in the 2-1 loss, scored brilliantly by the never-say-die wide midfielder Federico Chiesa.

Here are the player ratings from the loss.

GK Wojciech Szczesny

Easily his worst performance of the season. Wojciech Szczesny was culpable on both goals. He put Rodrigo Bentancur in an awful spot with a pass in the middle of the pitch, and he made so many poor decisions when passing out of the back. Szczesny did not help his teammates, and he should have done better for the second goal. He nearly allowed a third by spilling the ball.

Rating: 2.0 out of 10

LB Alex Sandro

Alex Sandro took the armband after an early injury to center back Giorgio Chiellini, and he proceeded to have a poor performance against his former employers. Nothing summed up his attacking incompetence more than standing there like a stone wall, tackling his own teammate.

Rating: 4.0 out of 10

CB Merih Demiral

A harsh decision to book Merih Demiral, who was honestly the only defender worth praising in this match. He came off the bench and did not really put a foot wrong.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

CB Matthijs de Ligt

In truth, Matthijs de Ligt should have been better. He led the team in passes attempted but was shaky on the ball when he needed to step up with both Leonardo Bonucci and Chiellini injured. De Ligt did not make a single tackle in this game and just one interception. He’ll have better days.

Rating: 5.0 out of 10

RB Danilo

Danilo has been one of Juve’s best players this season, but he is clearly a secondary option at right back to Juan Cuadrado, who was also missed badly by the Old Lady. The former Porto man was sloppy when playing out of the back and made far too many fouls.

Rating: 5.0 out of 10

CM Rodrigo Bentancur

Every week, I place Rodrigo Bentancur under the microscope, and, every week, he fails. He has been so shaky in possession in 2021, losing the ball close to his own penalty box on many occasions. Szczesny did not do him any favors, but Bentancur shoulders the blame for his own errors. And offensively, he was non-existent. Again. How can a player misplace so many simple passes? Bentancur, in fairness, did bounce back in the second half and played well defensively, bu the damage was already done.

Rating: 3.0 out of 10

CM Adrien Rabiot

One of the few players on Juventus who does not receive sharp criticism. Rabiot assisted Federico Chiesa late in the match for an all-important away goal that could save Juve’s butts. Rabiot, per WhoScored.com, had three key passes, three interceptions, and two tackles. Identical stats to Bentancur but without the embarrassing errors.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

LM Weston McKennie

Weston McKennie fought hard, but he did not fight well. He was lacking in quality in this match and was subbed off for a reason. His final ball just was not good enough.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

RM Federico Chiesa

The man of the hour for Juventus. Federico Chiesa scored an incredible goal from nothing to salvage a silver lining for the Bianconeri. Because of that goal, Juve can now win by a mere score of a 1-0 at the Juventus Stadium to advance to the quarterfinals.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10

FW Cristiano Ronaldo

He was invisible against Napoli, and he was just as poor against Porto. Everyone expected Cristiano Ronaldo to rise to the occasion, but he failed Juventini with his display. Sure, he received very little help from his surrounding players, especially Alex Sandro and Dejan Kulusevski, but he was on the periphery of the game.