Juventus ended a disappointing season on a sour note after losing 2-0 at Fiorentina in their final Serie A fixture of the campaign.
Fiorentina totally dismantled Juventus on Saturday night, winning 2-0 in Florence. The Viola needed to match or better Atalanta’s in order to qualify for next season’s UEFA Europa Conference League, and they did so thanks to goals from Alfred Duncan and Nicolas Gonzalez, whereas La Dea fell to a 1-0 loss to Empoli.
The visitors, who had already secured a UEFA Champions League berth and had already checked out for holidays, struggled to get any foothold in the game, failing to even test the hosts’ goalkeeper with zero shots at goal throughout the game, let alone carve any clear openings.
Fiorentina were by far the superior of the two sides as they looked in complete control, dominated territory and possession, while Juventus sat in a low-block and attacked exclusively on turnovers and out-balls over the top for Moise Kean. However, that trademark Allegri style backfired here when the hosts gained a deserved lead via a rifled strike by Alfred Duncan in first-half stoppage time.
Even after a flurry of substitutions at the break, Juventus never seemed to get to grips with the game. Fiorentina’s front-foot press left them disoriented and unable to construct anything from the back. Even the introduction of Dusan Vlahovic only sparked a chorus of boos from the Fiorentina faithful, who have clearly not forgiven the Serb yet.
They have no football idea, no offensive qualities, boring game, bad defense, no titles, Chiellini leaving, Bonucci aging. Pogba and Di Maria are great but this season has been an utter embarrassment for Juve. In italy I don’t think Allegri will be as criticized as he should
— Siavoush Fallahi (@SiavoushF) May 21, 2022
With 12 minutes remaining, Krzysztof Piatek forced a fantastic save from substituted Juventus goalkeeper Carlo Pinsoglio, but Fiorentina’s pressure paid off when Leonardo Bonucci was adjudged to have tripped Lucas Torreira inside the box, and Nicolas Gonzalez made no mistake from 12 yards out to send the home fans into ecstasy.
As for Juventus, they have ended their trophyless campaign with their lowest Serie A points tally in 11 years. Not to mention that these were Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala’s final outings in black and white, possibly marking the end of an era before an expected summer makeover. For now, The Hard Tackle will run the rule over Massimiliano Allegri’s men after such a dull performance in Florence.
Mattia Perin: 4/10
Perin could have done very little about the first goal as he was completely exposed and let down by his defence. He was subbed off at half-time as he looked uneasy in between the sticks for Juventus.
Matthijs de Ligt: 5/10
Matthijs de Ligt was decent on the night as he worked hard against the relentless Fiorentina onslaught and made a superb block in the first half. The Dutchman won two tackles, and three aerial duels and made three clearances, but that was about it in terms of defensive and attacking involvement.
Whether he would be better off not signing a new contract with Juventus remains up for debate because he was once an excellent ball-playing progressive defender at Ajax and is now simply an ordinary defender in Allegri’s robust system.
Leonardo Bonucci: 6.5/10
Bonucci was arguably the best player on the pitch for the Bianconeri, despite giving away the foul for the penalty with a lazy clip on Lucas Torreira. Juventus’s new captain was reliable as usual on the ball, completing seven of his ten attempted long balls, while he also made a vital clearance off the line.
The Italian defender also made two blocks and nine clearances, both of which were the highest by any player in the game. That said, he looked uncharacteristically nervous at the back and left too many gaps for Fiorentina to exploit, which resulted in the penalty conceded.
Giorgio Chiellini: 5/10
It was far from the perfect send-off Chiellini’s farewell outing for Juventus deserved. The veteran was involved in several defensive actions and tried to organise the backline. But it is clear that his age is starting to show as he lacked pace against a dominant Fiorentina attack. The 37-year-old received a cut on his face and was taken off at half-time alongside Perin to bring a premature end to his Juventus career.
Federico Bernardeschi: 5.5/10
Bernardeschi: “It’s been five wonderful years, today I made a speech to all the lads, the management and the coach. I thanked them, each of them passed on something to me. The Juventus world has made me feel at home, I can only say thank you.” (@DAZN_IT) pic.twitter.com/xnnY26Fedk
— JuveFC (@juvefcdotcom) May 21, 2022
After five years at the club, Bernardeschi looks set to leave this summer. And his performance on Sunday suggests Juventus might not miss him a great deal, especially if they invest in a top-class attacker.
Fabio Miretti: 4/10
Another decent performance from the teenager, who is building a strong case for a greater role in the team next season. He is clearly talented, progressive and understanding positional play, but this was a difficult game for him as Juventus’s midfield was completely outrun by the opposition, and the youngster himself was dribbled past four times during the game.
Manuel Locatelli: 5/10
Deployed as the holding midfielder in the engine room, Locatelli offered industry and did his bit off the ball, producing three tackles. He also tried his best to drive the team forward in midfield, but to variable success. It is blatantly clear that he is a much better player when given the freedom to attack from the middle of the park.
Adrien Rabiot: 3/10
Rabiot never appeared at ease, particularly in the first half, when Fiorentina kept putting him under pressure and he kept conceding fouls. It was more of the same in the second period, but he was pretty much more anonymous for most parts and struggled to keep the ball on rare instances when he did touch the ball. Juventus fans will be delighted to see him leave the club this summer.
Alex Sandro: 5/10
In what was likely his final appearance for Juventus, Sandro created some dangerous moments with his dribbling down the left-wing, but he was not great either. However, he at least he tried to get up the pitch and make things happen, managing three dribbles.
Moise Kean: 3/10
Amid rumours that Kean is undecided about his Juventus future and would want to return to PSG, with Juventus looking to promptly resell him, the Everton-owned attacker did not do himself any favours with such a dire display. He displayed poor touches, non-existent hold-up play and ineffectual on and off the ball before being hooked off.
Paulo Dybala: 6.5/10
Dybala knowing he’s never going to play under Allegri again pic.twitter.com/Hx4nE7gGNQ
— avci (@Avci1897) May 21, 2022
As usual, Dybala was one of the bright spots in a poor Juventus side, and he is arguably right to leave Allegri’s appalling style of play. Despite his best efforts to push the team forward with his dribbles and lovely touches, the Argentine was let down by a terrible team performance and had little service to work with. He would be far more influential in a positive, more attacking setup next season.
SUBSTITUTES
Daniele Rugani: 4/10
Rugani came in for Chiellini at half-time and tried to steady the ship with his accurate passing, composure and a few decent clearances, but to no avail.
Carlo Pinsoglio: 6/10
In his fifth ever appearance for Juventus, the 32-year-old goalkeeper made a couple of great saves to deny Krzysztof Piatek, Nicolas Gonzalez and Cristiano Biraghi to keep the scoreline respectable. He had no chance with the penalty, though, as Gonzalez sent him the wrong way.
Marley Ake: 4/10
Marley Ake is another talented player on Juventus’s roster, but he failed to impress after coming on for Bernardeschi as he completed no take-ons and made just 5 passes.
Weston McKennie: 5/10
McKennie played a few neat passes and got into some dangerous areas but was not able to make the desired impact on his first appearance back from injury.
Dusan Vlahovic: N/A
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
