Juventus vs. Porto: 3 burning questions after Champions League elimination
Juventus defeated Porto 3-2 at the Allianz Stadium on Tuesday night, but they were knocked out on away goals after Sergio Oliveira’s free kick managed to squirm under the wall and past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Here are three burning questions following Juve’s humbling exit from the Champions League Round of 16 for a second straight year.
Will Juventus stop starting Aaron Ramsey out wide?
Aaron Ramsey was among Juve’s poor performers in the second leg. It’s hard to pick out any particular moment of the match in which he helped the team build towards something meaningful, and that’s a huge problem. Ramsey is only an asset when he’s creating in the final third, because he offers nothing else. He won’t beat a man one-on-one, he won’t defend, and he won’t consistently make the right decisions as a passer. Ramsey is the classic “moments” guy.
And it’s awfully hard for him to carve out those moments when he has to play out wide and use whatever athleticism he has left to make something happen. Ramsey was powerless against Porto, no matter where he showed up. Juve have limited options at the wide midfield positions, particularly on the left-hand side. But Ramsey? He cannot be considered one of them.
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Was this Federico Chiesa’s superstar moment?
It’s not a stretch to argue that Federico Chiesa has been Juve’s MVP so far in 2021, even ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and his 20 Serie A goals. Chiesa is the only reason why Juventus had a chance in the Champions League Round of 16.
Not only did he score the away goal, but he scored twice in the second leg and never stopped working hard to make chances happen in the penalty box. He and Juan Cuadrado did not deserve to be on the losing side. Meanwhile, Ronaldo was horrible in the second leg, just as he was invisible in the first.
Chiesa’s Champions League display against Porto was done in front of the entire world. Yes, the whole world saw Juve sputter out of the Champions League again, but they also, hopefully, now recognize Chiesa as a world-class player. He is already a fan favorite for Juventini, but, on a grander scale, he’s even bigger than that. Chiesa is legitimately a Serie A superstar and a player whom Juventus can build around.
Could Federico Bernardeschi start over Alex Sandro?
Federico Bernardeschi has his issues, but he might be the best left-sided player in the Juventus lineup right now. And in light of how little Alex Sandro offered the Juventus attack in yet another poor big-game performance at the left back position, I don’t think it’s out of the question for Andrea Pirlo to experiment more frequently with the former Fiorentina man at left back.
Next. Juventus vs. Porto Player Ratings. dark
Bernardeschi started there against Lazio last week and was solid in a 3-1 win. It’s too soon to make a claim about him being better than Alex Sandro, who was once a world-class left back for Juventus. However, it’s not out of the question to wonder if he’s a significant upgrade offensively and if that could ultimately matter more to the Bianconeri.