The numbers behind Douglas Luiz’s Juventus start: Flop or unfairly criticised? | OneFootball

Douglas Luiz has endured a rough start to his Juventus career, receiving plenty of criticism from fans and the media after his first six appearances under Thiago Motta, but what do the stats say? Has his start to life in Serie A been a failure, or are there encouraging signs hidden in the numbers?

Douglas Luiz background

The Brazilian joined Juventus from Aston Villa in the summer in a deal worth €50m, although Enzo Barrenechea and Samuel Iling-Junior also moved in the opposite direction, which helped Juve finance the move.

He had become a fan favourite at Villa Park, hitting nine goals from 35 Premier League outings from the middle of the park during his final season.

It has not been smooth sailing since his move to Juventus, though. Douglas Luiz has struggled to cement himself as a starter in a well-stocked midfield department that also includes Manuel Locatelli, Nicolo Fagioli, Khephren Thuram and Weston McKennie. Teun Koopmeiners has taken on the attacking midfield role, while Kenan Yildiz is also capable of playing there, too.

And to make matters worse, Douglas Luiz has given away two penalties in his last two matches. The first was an unfortunate handball against RB Leipzig in the Champions League, while the second came after a collision in the area against Cagliari in Serie A.

The numbers behind Douglas Luiz’s Serie A start with Juventus

The Brazilian has started just once in Serie A this season, but has featured as a substitute in a further five matches.

What is encouraging is his passing, particularly in terms of pass completion. He has ended all six of his league appearances with a success rate of at least 91.4%, and ended his last substitute appearance with 100% of his 14 attempted passes completed.

He puts in a cross roughly every 60 minutes of football and completes a long ball roughly every 22.

Slightly more concerningly is the slowing down of his completed key passes. Douglas Luiz started brightly, providing at least one key ball per game across his first three outings, including three in a 28 minute appearance against Genoa, but he has not created a major chance in any of his last three matches.

He has also registered just two shots across his Serie A career to date.

The defensive phases don’t make for brilliant reading, as Douglas Luiz has managed just one interception from his six league outings so far in 2024-25. He completes one tackle just shy of every hour.

How Douglas Luiz compares to other Juventus midfielders

It has not been the most explosive of starts, and that is reflected in his average statistical ratings. WhoScored have given him ratings between 5.76 and 6.92 across his first six appearances for a total average of 6.52.

That would indicate that the performances, in terms of statistics, have not been a complete disaster, but there is certainly room for improvement.

In terms of statistical ratings, though, Douglas Luiz is not Juventus’s worst performing midfielder. Weston McKennie has a lower average rating (6.26), while Khephren Thuram (6.55) and Nicolo Fagioli (6.57) are posting very similar numbers to the Brazilian.

Manuel Locatelli’s average statistical rating of 6.94 is the highest among Juventus’s central midfielders in Serie A so far.