Juve switched formations against Milan and a key substitution made the diffence on the night. Read our player ratings and find out who.
The Bianconeri were fielded in a 4-3-1-2 formation with Hernanes playing behind a front two of Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic. A tepid first half resulted in a change of tactics and th introduction of Alex Sandro and Leonardo Bonucci and a awitch to a 3-5-2. The change soon paid off as it was Sandro’s assist that set up Dybala to volley home and earn his team all 3 points.
Do you agree with our ratings ? Have your say below.
Gigi Buffon
Seldom troubled by Bacca or Niang. Made a few routine saves during the course of the 90 before making a vital save to deny Cerci at the death. Reliable.
6.5 / 10
Stephan Lichtsteiner
Started very well, full of pace, frequently pressuring Antonelli. The change in formation gave him more freedom but his end product was lacking. Kept Niang very quiet on this night. Solid.
6.5 / 10
Giorgio Chiellini
Contained Bacca with ease, almost caught out in the first half but he put that early mistake behind him and played a good game overall, marshalling the defence well and keeping the Milan attack quiet. Resolute.
6.5 / 10
Andrea Barzagli
Some good tackles, strong in the air with some slightly poor positioning at times but a good performance nonetheless. Composed.
6.0 / 10
Patrice Evra
Definitely not at his best, struggling to contain Cerci’s pace early on. Substituted early on but it’s unclear if that was tactical or due to injury.
5.5 / 10
Claudio Marchisio
Another exceptional performance from I Principino who seems to be getting back to his best. Dictated the play all night, kept Juve moving forward, great distribution and intelligent passing. A silent leader.
7.5 / 10
Stefano Sturaro
A good work rate, strong tackling and hard working but still missing that special something to make an impression on the big games.
6.0 / 10
Paul Pogba
Verging on brilliance at times, the Frenchman made some inspired passes, some great tackles but his play in the final third of the pitch really lacked. Average night.
6.5 / 10
Hernanes
A woeful performance from the midfielder. Poor distribution, wild shots from distance and he was constantly dispossessed by the Milan midfield. Horrible.
4.0 / 10
Mario Mandzukic
A very poor night for the big Croation. Struggled to make any real chances and when he was presented a golden opportunity he wasted it. Not the striker who should be starting right now.
5.0 / 10
Paulo Dybala
Exceptional yet again. Brilliant delivery on his set-pieces, intelligent runs, pulling the defence wide to create space. Took his goal beautifully with a sublime finish. Showing more and more why he needs to be starting every game when possible.
8.0 / 10
Substitutes
Alex Sandro
An instant impact, as the game changed dramatically with his introduction and the switch in tactics. Afforded plenty of space on the left and made it count when he provided the assist for the goal.
7.0 /10
Leonardo Bonucci
A good display, coming on to form a 3-man defence and tighening things up at the back. ALmost gave away a penalty that was thankfully offside. Solid after that.
6.5 / 10
Alvaro Morata
A brief cameo role with the game already won.
Sorry but again … Too many articles being posted hinders a valuable and interesting discussion … we just had a huge game and there are no comments from anyone ..
and in the two weeks during the break we had barely 50 comments. no one visits here anymore and i’m ok with it. i tried to slow down the content to generate discussion and there was no one here. from now on, i’m going to continue posting a few articles a day because at least we get the occasional hit here and there. if you can get 50 people to tell me otherwise i’ll change it up
Duly noted.
But no one commenting during break time is not an indicator because focus overall turns to the international games and plus, there was the Paris fiasco and football overall took a back seat. Italy was playing friendlies too so the games weren’t that meaningful.
The site is great bro. You’re right, I also wish more people commented. I actually prefer this site to the other Juve sites where you can comment.
We need more feed back people.
even the empoli game was dead – no one bothers coming here any more and that used to disappoint me but i can’t compete with the other sites – the search ranking for the site is not as good any more and social media seems to be the way forward. If i had 50 regular people here commenting every few days i’d cut back on content and let them talk about everything. It’s a shame but at least with more content, i get traffic which keeps the site relevant.
Thanks for your kind words as always – I appreciate them, even if i come across as a grouch !
You’re no grouch.
I might sound like an a hole too. No worries.
We used to be so active though, but that’s years ago. It’s a shame all those people left
I try to comment as much as i can, I love this site and the people here. Ever since i started my own business, i just have so little time for anything besides work. I have missed so many games already, which means i also dont comment much during games anymore.
Your site is great man
Hi guys bit juve fan from aus.
I have been visiting the site for a very long time but never posted.
Just wanted to say how much i love this site and now that i have an account i will be more involved.
So do I, Mike. We don’t have many Juventus site/forum for international fans and this site is pretty updated and people commenting here are much more rational than Goal.com and etc. Anyway, can’t wait for Wednesday’s CL game!
Hi there 🙂
New to this site. Really like what I’ve seen. Interesting ratings. I have no real beef with any of them. I may give Mario M. a little higher rating, but can also see why people are disappointed. I really liked what both Sandro and Sturaro brought. Sure Sturaro could do more, but he is young and has had inconsistent playing time. Really like his grinta and he seems to cover some ground too. I think he could develop into a nice player for us