Juventus: 3 burning questions from the 2-1 loss to Porto

Juventus fell behind after just one minute, and they conceded even more quickly in the second half to put themselves in a 2-0 hole at the Estadio do Dragao. A late goal from Federico Chiesa actually puts Juve in a position to advance with a 1-0 win, but it was hardly a consolation to many Juventini, who were appalled by how poorly the Bianconeri played.

Let’s ask three burning questions following this 2-1 loss to FC Porto in the Champions League Round of 16.

How vital is Juan Cuadrado to Juventus?

Between the Champions League and Serie A, no player has more total assists for the Bianconeri than Juan Cuadrado, who has an even 10. Five of those assists come in the Champions League, and while that has been used against him due to the low competition provided by Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros, the reality is that Cuadrado is always the man for the moment. Juve would have lost the Derby della Mole without the goals he created!

Cuadrado did not play against Porto due to an injury he picked up in the first half at Napoli, and the Bianconeri suffered accordingly. They could not stretch the pitch wide without him, and his quality on the ball when playing out of the back was missed.

I am not 100 percent comfortable saying this, but a part of me believes Cuadrado is the team’s second-most important player after Cristiano Ronaldo.

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When will Juventus stop playing out of the back with such risk?

Juventus could have lost by more than one goal, which would have been devastating. And they could have lost by a greater margin due to the unnecessary risks they took when playing out of the back.

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is arguably the best keeper in his league and is a proven Champions League keeper. But he was terrible at Porto, including in the decisions he made when passing out of the back. A keeper should never, ever pass the ball down the middle to a pressured player who has his back toward his own goal. Not only did he do that to Rodrigo Bentancur, who coughed up the ball in the first minute to gift Porto the lead, but he kept on making this mistake!

Juve made so many mistakes playing out of the back. Everyone was culpable, too. Danilo and Matthijs de Ligt are usually reliable, but they made mistakes. Szczesny and Bentancur, however, were the worst culprits.

This has been a problem for weeks, especially when Bentancur starts and the fleet-footed Arthur does not. Juventus need to stop this. The risk is not worth the reward. Not in the least. Be tricky in the attack, not in your own penalty box!

Can Rodrigo Bentancur snap out of it?

Something of a corollary to the second question, but this issue must be addressed on its own. Rodrigo Bentancur is not a bad player. I understand that he is a good bit below other Serie A midfielders, such as the likes operating in the city of Milan for both of those rival clubs. But he can be a quality squad player for Juventus. He even had some bright moments against Porto after he calmed down, if you can believe it.

But it is getting ridiculous watching Bentancur struggle with simple ball security week after week. He made these mistakes against Milan and Inter, as well as less-heralded opponents. And he was exposed at Porto, who seemed to specifically gameplan around pressuring the regista-by-default with Arthur injured.

Bentancur cannot be the regista. That is not his skill-set. But no matter where he plays, his passing accuracy and decision-making will be tested. His composure cannot be this broken. If the mistakes continue, Bentancur could leave Andrea Pirlo with no choice but to leave him on the bench in these big matches.