Juventus knew they had to get the full three points on Serie A’s Matchday 31 against Atalanta, who were just one spot behind the third-place Bianconeri in the table. Instead of delivering a creative, professional display and stepping up to their competition at the Gewiss Stadium, Juve lost 1-0 without Cristiano Ronaldo in one of their most uninspiring, big-game performances of the 2020-2021 campaign.
More questions need to be asked of Andrea Pirlo’s management and tactical ideas (or lack thereof). He put several of his players in a position to fail, and his team had no real pressing structure, transitional pattern, or alignment to recycle the ball and penetrate the box in possession. In short, Pirlo showed very little prowess in a head-to-head matchup with Gian Piero Gasperini. It is worrisome how little progression Pirlo has shown tactically since taking the Juventus job.
Here are the full player ratings from Juve’s 1-0 loss to Atalanta as they drop down to fourth.
GK Wojciech Szczesny
Wojciech Szczesny was one of Juve’s best performers on the pitch. For a big club, that’s rarely a good sign. He could do nothing about the deflected goal, having saved a tough free kick just moments earlier. Szczesny made two great plays on the ball, showing real skill.
Rating: 7.0
LB Alex Sandro
One of the worst players on the pitch. Juventus need to make an upgrade at left back, because for over a year, he has been a tremendous liability offensively. He adds nothing to the table in the attack. Although Alex Sandro made a few nice blocks, he wasn’t good defensively either. Furthermore, I have no idea why Pirlo played Sandro as an inverted fullback in this game in an asymmetrical formation, because Sandro frequently lost the ball in the middle of the pitch, leading to Atalanta counters. Awful stuff from an experienced player.
Rating: 4.0
CB Giorgio Chiellini
According to WhoScored.com, Giorgio Chiellini had three interceptions, two tackles, and four clearances. Looks good, right? But the stats don’t tell the whole story. He nearly caused a goal for Matteo Pessina after some questionable positioning, and he was bumbling around the pitch for much of the game. It was an average performance from the captain.
Rating: 6.0
CB Matthijs de Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt had a very good game for Juventus. Without him, the Bianconeri probably would have lost by multiple goals, considering he made a pair of goal-saving blocks. De Ligt’s defending was brilliant at times, and while he’s not quite hit his peak this season, he’s been solid.
Rating: 7.0
RB Juan Cuadrado
The best player on the pitch for Juventus, Juan Cuadrado was the only player actually creating anything for the listless Bianconeri. He put in the work of three players, charging up the pitch and doing whatever he could to avoid defeat at the Gewiss Stadium. Cuadrado frequently embarrassed Berat Djimsiti with his agile dribbling, nearly getting the Atalanta center back sent off. All told, he had seven dribbles completed and eight fouls drawn.
Rating: 7.5
LM Federico Chiesa
Hopefully, Federico Chiesa is not injured, because he has been Juve’s best player over the past couple of months. Chiesa played reasonably well prior to his injury, even recording three tackles in his 57 minutes. He is always willing and able to help the team defend, though his attacking exploits were ruined by poor play from Alvaro Morata and Alex Sandro on his side of the formation.
Rating: 6.0
CM Adrien Rabiot
Adrien Rabiot is great at carrying the ball at his feet in transition, but his passing is too poor to be a starter for Juventus. He cannot make passes into tight areas or break the lines of the defense. Rabiot is a hard-worker, but he’s just not creative enough. This was another poor performance from Rabiot. We knew coming into this game that he and Rodrigo Bentancur needed to step up against Atalanta’s midfield, and they clearly did not raise their standards.
Rating: 5.0
CM Rodrigo Bentancur
To me, Rodrigo Bentancur was even worse than Adrien Rabiot. While he made more plays on the ball defensively, he was far less present offensively. It almost seems like he hides from the game and tries to get on the ball as little as possible, especially in high-leverage areas in the opposition half. He ends up taking up space without adding anything to Juve’s attacks, and, for that reason, he is a massive liability in the biggest matches.
Rating: 4.0
RM Weston McKennie
Andrea Pirlo needs to stop playing Weston McKennie out of position, because he is doing the exact same thing that Schalke’s incompetent managers did. Does Pirlo really want to tarnish his reputation to the likes of them? McKennie worked hard for the team, as always, but he was put in a position to fail by his manager. He is not a wide midfielder in a 4-4-2.
Rating: 5.5
FW Alvaro Morata
A horrible performance from Alvaro Morata, there can be no two ways about it. Morata is so important to Juve, so when he plays this badly, the Bianconeri are in trouble. The Spanish international offered precisely zero attacking threat, which is a huge problem when the only forward on the pitch is making their first start post-injury in three months. Morata worked hard for the team, but he had nothing to show for his efforts. Other than forcing a save out of Pierluigi Gollini, I can scarcely remember a positive thing he did. But he was also let down by an atrocious midfield performance that gave him no room to work with.
Rating: 4.5
FW Paulo Dybala
Paulo Dybala was anonymous in this defeat before being subbed for Dejan Kulusevski. But the reason for his substitution is the same as the reason for his lack of an impact. He was clearly not fully fit. Dybala shouldn’t have even started this game, but he had to start after Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury. Even so, at least La Joya had three key passes and two fouls drawn. It wasn’t his best game and he was hindered health-wise, but unlike some of his teammates, he at least gave the impression that he carried a threat to the Atalanta defense.
Rating: 5.5