Juventus are in search of their 37th Serie A title. After a run of nine consecutive Scudettos from the 2011–12 season to the 2019–20 season, they have failed to win the title in the last three seasons. The departure of some players and injuries to others led to the downfall of the club.
One player who has been a major missing piece in the last few seasons is Federico Chiesa. Initially signed on a two-year loan deal from Fiorentina, the player had a decent first season at the club. In the second season, he suffered a season-ending injury. The Italian national player recovered in 2022–23 but had limited game time. Now he has returned, and Juventus will rely on his creativity. Here is a look at why Juventus need their 25-year-old forward to stay fit.
Dangerous runner with the ball
Federico Chiesa is a left forward who likes to run at the defenders and beat them with his pace and skills. He likes to progress down his preferred left wing and made 43 progressive runs in just 951 minutes played in Serie A in 2022–23. The player enjoyed a 60% dribble rate and often penetrated the box with his skills.
These dribbles and progressive runs are followed by a pass, and sometimes a player even takes a shot when he has the space. The above visual shows all the winger actions made by the Italian forward in the 2023–24 season. Last season, the player averaged 4.16 crosses per 90 minutes and had a 34.1% accuracy rate. This season, the accuracy rate has gone down to 22.2%. Chiesa has only played three games and will look to improve his stats.
Such dribbling ability and vision to find a pass allow the player to penetrate the opposition penalty box. The above viz shows the penetration carries that were made by the player. Some were in the form of passes, while others were runs into the box. Chiesa has not gone wide and has tried to make diagonal runs and passes into the box.
End product
Juventus were without regular goal-scorers in the last campaign. They were dependent on the whole team to score a goal and win matches. Chiesa knows how to find the back of the net. He has already netted two goals with five shot attempts. One goal was scored from a long-range effort. Last season, the player averaged 2.4 shots per 90 minutes and scored two goals.
One of the reasons Federico Chiesa needs to remain fit is because of his creativity. Last season, the player added four assists to his name. He provided 17 shot assists, with most of them landing in front of the six-yard box. These included some low crosses that found a teammate in scoring positions.
Juventus will rely a lot on Chiesa in the ongoing campaign. Juventus are not the dominant side that they used to be and are rebuilding their squad. A player like Federico Chiesa is capable enough to carry his team to glory.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
