Juventus 2018-19 Season Ratings: The Forwards

The 2018-19 Serie A season is officially over, and it couldn’t have come soon enough for Juventus. As dismal as the last few weeks of the season were for Juve, this campaign will be remembered as a successful one. Winning their eighth straight Scudetto with weeks to spare was only possible because of the most lethal Juve attack in quite some time. An attack that perhaps could’ve done better as a unit, but no doubt, one of the best Juventus attacks in many, many years.

Without further adieu, let’s get into the ratings.

Mario Mandzukic — 8

Season stats: 10 goals and 7 assists in 33 games

This wasn’t Mario’s best season, but he’s been much better than some other Juventus players. It’s hard to not be a fan of Mandzukic — when he’s on your team — and I can’t think of any games in which he played and wasn’t involved in some way. Mr. No Good always seems to find himself in the thick of it, whether he’s defending in his own third or finding his way onto the end of a cross. Mandzukic is not one to quit easily and his motor never seems to fully run out of gas. Despite injury troubles in the latter stage of the season, Mario Mandzukic proved he deserves to remain a part of Juventus in any capacity.

Douglas Costa — 6

Season stats: 1 goal and 1 assist in 25 games

When only looking at the stat sheets, Costa doesn’t appear to have done much of note this season. However, if his immense pace and world-class skills and tricks on the ball are any indications of his quality, he hasn’t lost any of it. It’s hard to judge Costa so critically considering he spent most of the season flipping on and off of the injury list. Despite this, I believe Costa still deserves credit for the immediate spark he provided on the pitch. If he is still a Juventus player come next season and he can avoid injury, he’ll be a valuable player for whoever is Juve’s next manager.

Moise Kean — 9

Season stats: 7 goals in 17 games

I had to give a generous rating to my favorite Juventus player, Moise Bioty Kean. This rising star made his first Juventus appearances a little over two years ago and I’ve been a stan ever since. At only 19 years of age, Kean has been one of the brightest spots of the 18-19 Juventus season. In late February, I wrote about Juventus needing to give their young players more time on the field and shortly after I was rewarded when Kean went on his phenomenal scoring run for club and country. If there’s one thing I’m looking forward to, it’s seeing Kean bag some more goals and hit his dance moves in the near future.

Paulo Dybala — 6.5

Season stats: 10 goals and 6 assists in 42 games

Even though Dybala wasn’t nearly as impressive as he was last season, I strongly believe he belongs with Juventus. Without harping on Max Allegri too much as he leaves the club, it has to be said that Dybala was rarely put in the best position to succeed throughout the season. When playing in a trequartista role, Dybala is among the best in the world and I couldn’t think who deserves to wear Juve’s No. 10 jersey more than him, especially when considering how professionally he’s handled himself during this frustrating season. With the right manager and a clean slate, Dybala can continue on his path to legend status with Juventus.

Federico Bernardeschi — 8

Season stats: 3 goals and 6 assists in 39 games

This season was Fede’s second with Juventus and it’s the first in which he’s been given consistent time on the field. If there’s one thing he’s proven, it’s that he can hang with the big boys. I’ve had my doubts in the past about Bernardeschi’s game, but with some stellar performances this year, a new haircut, and a mentor in Cristiano Ronaldo, I’m confident that he will continue to improve. The area in greatest need of improvement for Fede has to be his decision making but with more experience, this will undoubtedly improve, as will the rest of his game. I’m optimistic that Bernardeschi will continue to grow in the future, and hopefully so will his hair.

Juan Cuadrado — 5.5

Season stats: 1 goal and 4 assists in 24 games

Just as his No. 7 jersey was “taken” from him this summer, his reliability was as well. It’s no secret that he’s been gradually declining in form over the last year or so, but when he’s playing in his actual position and keeping his head up, Juan has been decent. Allegri seemed to enjoy playing him all over the pitch and the Colombian forward just isn’t the type of player that’ll find success in any position. He’s still very capable of supplying energy off the bench and would’ve probably done so more this season if he hadn’t missed several months with injury. While it hasn’t been pretty, Cuadrado can still benefit the team as a substitute and I should specify, an attacking substitute.

Cristiano Ronaldo — 9.5

Season stats: 28 goals and 13 assists in 43 games

I promise I was never a fan of Ronaldo until this season. The 34- going on 24-year-old attacker has been Juve’s most consistent attacking threat. His performance on that special night against Atletico Madrid gave me Kobe Bryant vibes in the best way possible and it’s fair to assume Ronaldo will have a few more nights like that one in the near future. It’ll be interesting to see Ronaldo play in an attack with a new coach and perhaps in tandem with an effective Dybala. Ronaldo’s first season with Juventus will assuredly be considered a positive one, even with the Champions League collapse in the quarterfinals. Assuming Ronaldo can remain healthy and stay in top form, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him help Juve to a European title in the near future.