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Juventus: 3 things that went wrong in the defeat against Empoli

By Jyotirmoy Halder

TURIN, ITALY - AUGUST 28: Paulo Dybala, Manuel Locatelli and Alvaro Morata of Juventus protest to the referee Davide Ghersini following a decision against their team during the Serie A match between Juventus and Empoli FC at Allianz Stadium on August 28, 2021 in Turin, . (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY - AUGUST 28: Paulo Dybala, Manuel Locatelli and Alvaro Morata of Juventus protest to the referee Davide Ghersini following a decision against their team during the Serie A match between Juventus and Empoli FC at Allianz Stadium on August 28, 2021 in Turin, . (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images) /
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1. Alex Sandro lacked what Juan Cuadrado had

Alex Sandro, Juventus (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images)
Alex Sandro, Juventus (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images) /

Earlier in the summer, there were clamours of Alex Sandro being an outcast in the current Juventus side. Over the last 12 months or so, Sandro has done almost nothing to inspire Juventus devotees and justify a place in Max Allegri’s starting XI. And then, Juventus somehow managed to send Gianluca Frabotta on a season-long loan deal to Hellas Verona and are now trying to offload Luca Pellegrini, which could be another loan deal.

Pellegrini’s imminent departure would leave Juve with one left-footed full-back in Alex Sandro. Mattia De Sciglio is available to cover for Alex Sandro. But despite being versatile, he lacks the thrust of a left-back like Frabotta or Pellegrini. Therefore, Alex Sandro, at 30, remains the first choice left-back of Juventus. He now might’ve taken the starting position for granted. The consequences or rather ramifications of Allegri keeping Alex Sandro at the number one left-back spot were evident in Juve’s 1-0 defeat to Empoli on Saturday night.

If we take a glance at Juventus’ average player position, presented by Whoscored.com, we find that Alex Sandro’s average position was below the halfway line, considering that they were up against a newly-promoted Serie A side. On the other hand, Juan Cuadrado, playing an equivalent role to Alex Sandro, was way above the halfway line as far as his average position against Empoli is concerned.

The stats further showcase that how it eventually impacted the game and the collective performance of the Bianconeri. As per Whoscored.com, Cuadrado had three accurate crosses to Alex Sandro’s none. The Colombian completed two dribbles to the Brazilian’s none. Furthermore, Cuadrado was more adventurous.

Even though Alex Sandro wasn’t the principal reason why Juventus dropped three points on Saturday, his lack of dynamism from left-back was certainly a contributing factor in a poor attacking effort.

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