The match against Sassuolo marked a historic moment for the Bianconeri because, as Opta reports, it was the first time in the Turin club’s history that they fielded a team without a single Italian outfield player. If we recall Como’s victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League last week, which did not have a single Italian in the starting 11, even the goalkeeper was French, we may have just the reason that the Italian Football Federation could take into account when they ask themselves why they did not qualify for the last three World Cups.

But let us return to the main topic: Juventus and their on-field performances, which certainly offer little hope or optimism to their fans. While social media users mockingly dub the Turin side the “Italian Manchester United“, let’s look at the numbers: they currently sit eighth in Serie A with two wins, one draw, and one loss, alongside an unimpressive goal difference of 6:4.

In short, Juventus performs well by most metrics, especially defensively, but in attack, they play like a team fighting to avoid relegation. Their attacking woes begin with coach Luciano Spalletti’s first-choice forward, Randal Kolo Muani. We have already written about his poor form here; four rounds in, the Frenchman has yet to score a goal. That is simply not enough for a player who cost 40 million euros.

The fact that Edon Zhegrova is the only player in the attack who scored goals for Juventus, just yesterday against Sassuolo, speaks volumes about how weak Juventus’ attack is. The other scorers were midfielders Teun Koopmeiners and Nicolás González and defenders Federico Gatti and Gleison Bremer.

Juventus boasts an excellent defense…at least at first glance

They are the best in the league in xG allowed per game with 0.45, they allow the fewest shots per game, only 7.0, and only 3.0 shots on goal per game, which is second best in the league. They concede an average of 1.0 goal per game, sharing fourth place in this category with Como, Inter, Milan, and Frosinone.

That sounds like great data, but if we take advanced statistics, Juve is 18th in the difference between expected and conceded goals, -2.21.

When we go into the attacking part, that’s where the real problems arise. In addition to the already mentioned Kolo Muani, Nick Woltemade is also still without a goal, and when you look at the team numbers, Juventus fans can only dream of a title if this continues. Although they create 2.3 opportunities per game, they miss even 2.0 of them per game, placing them only in 14th place in the league. And as far as shot conversion is concerned, that’s where we see the real problem. They scored only 6 goals from 74 shots in total, that is, they have a conversion of only 8.1%, which puts them in 15th place. while the league average is 10.1%.

Injury Issues

Naturally, it must be acknowledged that Juventus is facing significant injury problems, with Kenan Yıldız, Manuel Locatelli, and Khéphren Thuram standing out in this regard. Looking at their Serie A figures from last season and their impact on the squad, we can consider the trio’s contribution to the team’s overall statistics.

Yıldız was by far the most influential of the three. He was involved in over a quarter of Juve’s goals with 27%, created one-fifth of the team’s big chances, and executed a quarter of all successful dribbles. With an xA of 9.63 and 6 actual assists, he actually “underperformed” in terms of recorded assists, meaning he created more than the final stats reflect.

Locatelli does not drive the attacking numbers, but he acts as the game’s regulator; 12.4% of all Juve’s touches went through him (the highest in the squad), and he held the highest Sofascore rating of 7.72. His contribution lies in control and distribution, not goals.

Thuram provided the most balanced, “linking” contribution solid across the board (6 goal involvements, energy, touches), acting as a classic box-to-box midfielder connecting defense and attack. Aside from Locatelli, who was the highest-rated player, Yıldız ranked second with a 7.39, while Thuram was eighth with a 6.97.

In conclusion, Juventus currently faces two major issues: they need to improve their finishing in the final third, and they must contend with injuries, leaving them no choice but to find a way to play without several key players, many of whom will not return to the pitch before 2027.