How Paulo Dybala bounced back to become a key figure for Juventus once again
At the end of the 2018-19 season, the Juventus career of Paulo Dybala was at a crossroads after he enduredthe worst season of his career at the club.
2018-19 saw a notable downturn in the performances of the Argentinian. In the previous three seasons he had scored 23, 19 and 26 goals in all competitions and played a key role in the side which won three consecutive league and cup doubles.
Alongside his impressive tally of goals, Paulo Dybala was also a key creator of opportunities for his team-mates, notching up seven assists in 2015-16, eight in 2016-17 and another seven in 2017-18.
However, despite those domestic triumphs, European glory continued to elude them, and Juventus spent big, signing Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018.
It was a move that made sense. Ronaldo had been the key player in the Madrid side that won three Champions League titles in a row between 2016 and 2018. He had also won it in 2014 with Madrid and in 2008 with Manchester United. He was considered to be the final piece of the puzzle in Juventus' hunt for a European crown.
While this was considered good news for Juventus, it was bad news for Paulo Dybala. Previously, the heartbeat of the team, he found himself playing second fiddle to Ronaldo, and his performances dipped.
Statistically, Paulo Dybala suffered the worst season of his career. In 42 appearances, he scored just 10 goals, only five of which came in the league. He would register only two assists. Although Juventus won the league and the Italian Supercup, they were eliminated in the Coppa Italia quarterfinal by Atalanta and lost to Ajax in the same stage of the Champions League.
At the end of 2018-19 season Massimiliano Allegri's five-year spell in charge came to an end and he was replaced by Maurizio Sarri.
Paulo Dybala's relationship with Allegri had soured and a new manager represented a chance for a fresh start after his poor form the previous season.
However it didn't appear that that was going to be the case, with Dybala linked with multiple moves away from the club in the summer of 2019. The deal that came closest to happening was to Champions League finalists Tottenham Hotspur.
Paulo Dybala's unlikely resurgence
Fortunately for Juventus and Dybala, the move fell through and he has never looked back.
Under Sarri's management, Dybala is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career and is thriving alongside Ronaldo. In 41 appearances in 2019-20 he has scored 17 goals and has a career-best 13 assists. He is averaging a goal or assist every 88 minutes.
His allround game has also improved significantly from the previous season. In Serie A fixtures, he is getting more involved in the game, averaging 42.7 passes per game compared to 39.1 in 2018-19. His key passes has also risen to two from 1.7 which is reflected in the significant rise in assists. He is also taking more shots per game, averaging 3.1 in 2019-20 compared to 2.2 in 2018-19.
He has once again been an absolutely key player in the success of the team, which should see him win a fifth league title.
However it will be European glory that Paulo Dybala and Juventus really desire, with the first item on the agenda being to overturn a 1-0 deficit to Lyon in their last-16 tie.
His form in Europe this season suggests that Paulo Dybala could be key to making that happen. In seven appearances he has scored three goals and has two assists, making a decisive contribution every 59 minutes.
Whatever the outcome of the season, Paulo Dybala has succeeded in making himself a pivotal cog of the Juventus team once more.