Juventus 0-1 Empoli: player ratings as Juve fall to shock home defeat
Midfielders
Adrien Rabiot (5/10): Rabiot was on the pitch for 55 minutes. He was assigned to keep the balance in the heart of the midfield. But what he did was far from inspiring. Inconsistency is what we have seen in Rabiot’s game yet and again. It was one of those inconsistent performances for Rabiot. Completing 17 passes out of 21 attempted, the Frenchman was pretty quiet.
Danilo (5/10): Dismissing the expectation, Allegri opted for Danilo to play in front of their defence. At first, he looked commendable. But as the game went on, he became lacklustre. Due to his mismanagement in the midfield, Empoli midfielders were seen enjoying a large portion of possession in their favour. In the dying minutes of the game, he got himself a yellow card. Having watched Danilo’s performance today, Allegri might be inclined to pick Manuel Locatelli from the next time.
Rodrigo Bentancur (6/10): The Uruguayan is the one who was trying his personal best to make something happen out of the blue. Playing in front of Danilo, Bentancur was involved in pressing his opponents, who were proactive on Saturday night. Staying on the pitch for the 66th minute, Bentancur provided two key passes. One thing is clear for sure that the box-to-box role surely suits Bentancur.
Weston McKennie (5.5/10): The birthday boy saw his number getting up on the board right at the beginning of the second half, making the space for Alvaro Morata. McKennie was tasked with connecting the attack with the midfield. Well, it can be claimed that he was too adept in doing his job tonight.
Forwards
Paulo Dybala (7/10): A sheer creator from around the box, Dybala was decent against Empoli. He was endeavouring hard to pick the empty pockets in the Empoli defence. He ended up putting six crosses inside the box. But those crosses bore no fruit as there was no forward available for an entire half of the match.
Federico Chiesa (6.5/10): Chiesa was arguably Juventus’ best player in the first half. It is a shame that he had to run the forward line all by himself. He made bursting forward runs numerous times, only to get outmuscled by the Empoli defenders due to lack of support from Juve’s rather isolated midfield. Getting substituted at the 66th minute of the game, Chiesa had 42 touches, completing two key passes on a struggling night for the European champion.
(All the starts are taken from Whoscored.com)
Substitutes
Alvaro Morata (4/10), Federico Bernardeschi (5.5/10), Manuel Locatelli (5.5/10), Dejan Kulusevski (5.5/10), Mattia De Sciglio (N/A).