Juventus 2021/22 mid-season report card: Grading every player’s performance so far this season

Defenders

Mattia De Sciglio – B+ – Who would’ve thought that De Sciglio would evolve into a cult hero, eh? Back-to-back performances against Roma and Zenit, games in which he provided the match-winning assist, saw Juventini undergo a complete u-turn in their estimations of the once steady full-back. Allegri missed him during his month-long injury lay-off but he did return in December. He gets a generous grade for turning around an entire fan base with two crossing sequences.

Danilo – B – Danilo’s been asked to do a whole lot less this time around compared to last season. Andrea Pirlo had him doing a whole manner of quirky things from full-back. Under Allegri, though, the Brazilian’s role has been simplified considerably and he was incredibly consistent before his injury. His absence was hard-felt on the big occasion, but there’s hope he’ll return in mid-January. Danilo is a leader in the Juve backline.

Koni De Winter – N/A – The youngster has shown promise in his 81 minutes of action this season, but this sample size is too small to give him a grade.

Matthijs de Ligt – A- – It took some time for Allegri to realise just how good De Ligt is and how crucial he is to the Juventus rebuild. Barring the odd blip, the Dutchman has been quite brilliant this term. He finally looks at ease at the club in what’s his third season in Turin, and Juve must retain him beyond the summer, no matter what Mino Raiola’s intentions are. His projection as one of Europe’s stoutest centre-backs is looking more and more astute by the game.

Leonardo Bonucci – C – No outfielder has registered more minutes than Bonucci (1,884) in all competitions so far. The boss still trusts the veteran after his impressive Euros campaign in the summer, but it’s fair to say Bonucci’s form has been patchy at best. He defends the box well, but his flaws prevent Allegri from deploying a high defensive line regularly.

Giorgio Chiellini – C+ – Chiellini hasn’t fared too much better than his long-time partner, with injuries and De Ligt’s form limiting him to 780 minutes in the first half of the season. The gritty centre-half has looked much more at ease when partnering De Ligt compared to Bonucci.

Daniele Rugani – N/A – Fortunately, Rugani’s services have only been required for 191 minutes so far.

Alex Sandro – D- – Alex Sandro began the campaign with real promise. In Allegri’s asymmetric 4-4-2, he was assertive and expansive as the marauding left-back. However, this upturn in performance proved brief. Since October, the Brazilian has been bereft of any assertion with or without possession and he hasn’t registered a goal contribution since September.

Luca Pellegrini – B+ – Allegri is slowly beginning to realise that Pellegrini should be his number one guy at left-back. He offers everything that Alex Sandro doesn’t with the ball, and he’s proved to be a sturdy enough customer in the defensive phase. There are plenty of positives to take from his season so far.

Continues onto the next slide…