Well, it happened again. For the second season in a row, Juventus were eliminated from the Champions League round of 16 at the hands of a supposedly weaker opponent. Porto had won the first leg at home 2-1, and opened the scoring from the spot kick. Federico Chiesa’s brace brought the Italians back, and with Mehdi Taremi sent off, the Bianconeri were expected to find a winner. Nonetheless, it was Sergio Oliveira’s freekick late in extra-time that sealed the qualification for the visitors, as Adrien Rabiot’s late goal wasn’t enough to change the outcome, and the second leg ended in a 3-2 result (4-4 on aggregate). So here are the player ratings for Juventus after their disappointing elimination from the European competition against Porto.
Juventus XI
Wojciech Szczesny – 5.5
The Polish goalkeeper did well to keep the hosts in the match with some routine saves in the first half. Didn’t have much to do after the first 45 minutes, but could have done better to deny Sergio’s killer goal in extra time.
Juan Cuadrado – 7
Although the Colombian had some troubles dealing with Zaidu at times, his crosses made all the difference, as he offered Morata the chance to open the scoring with a free header in the first minutes. Later on, he provided Chiesa with the assist for the second goal with a sublime cross, and could have won the match with a screamer that ended up crashing at the woodwork.
Merih Demiral – 5
The Turk looked shaky in general, and clumsily gave away a penalty in the first half for a needless challenge on Taremi. Moussa Marega also had the best of him at times.
Leonardo Bonucci – 5.5
The captain of the night almost gifted Marega an early goal with a poor pass. Could have snatched a goal for Juventus, but his reactions inside the Porto penalty were mostly slow.
Alex Sandro – 5.5
A forgettable performance for the Brazilian against his old side, as he was pegged back deep into his own area for the majority of the match, and thus very rarely supported the attack.
Arthur – 6
The presence of the former Barcelona man allows the team to play better in general. Even though he controlled the middle of the park with his neat passing, he was largely unable to spot the killer-pass at times.
Adrien Rabiot – 7
The Frenchman has been delivering for Juventus in the last two matches, as he was well involved in both phases. Nodded home the third goal for the Bianconeri, but it was too little too late
Aaron Ramsey – 5.5
A hard-working performance from the Welshman as ever, but eventually had a very little effect on the match, with barely any memorable moments to mention, besides wasting the chance to score from a header.
Federico Chiesa – 8
Another thrilling performance from the former Fiorentina man. Dragged his side back to the match with a lovely strike to the top far corner, before completing his brace with a well-taken header. Could have also scored another goal when he sneaked behind the defense to beat the goalkeeper for the ball, but Pepe’s interference was enough to see it hit the post.
Alvaro Morata – 5.5
The Spaniard worked hard all night, but failed to deliver the one thing he was required to do – score a goal (at least one that would stand). Wasted a golden opportunity in the opening minutes which could have made the match much easier for Juventus, and couldn’t do the damage on several other occasions as well.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 5.5
The Portuguese superstar looked human for once. Was unable to get anything going throughout the match – from dribbling to shooting – but his brightest moment was assisting Chiesa for the Old Lady’s first goal.
Juventus Substitutes
Weston McKennie – 5
The young American committed the foul on Sergio which resulted in Porto’s extra-time goal.
Matthijs de Ligt – 5.5
The Dutchman ended up as an extra striker at times when Juventus were desperate for a winner, and tried to claim a penalty as he fell inside the Porto penatly box.
Federico Bernardeschi – 5
Replaced Chiesa to a minimal effect.
Dejan Kulusevski – 4.5
The youngster was supposed to be the impact sub in extra time, but he ended up killing out every promising ball that he received.
1999 – Federico Chiesa is the first Italian ?? player to score 2+ goals in a UEFA Champions League knockout stage game with Juventus since Filippo Inzaghi, in April 1999 against Manchester United. Amazing.#JuveFCP pic.twitter.com/HIXjfTDyZr
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) March 9, 2021