Medhi Benatia scored the only goal of the night against his former club while Wojciech Szczęsny performed a match winning save to guarantee the Bianconeri three points.
Player Ratings
Defence
Bob Szczesny: Unbeatable. A brilliant display by the stand in keeper who is showing some tremendous form to help Juve to eight clean sheets in a row. Made a world class save to deny Patrik Schick when he was clean through on goal. His confidence is infectious and he is transmitting this to his back-line. 8.0/10
Giorgio Chiellini: Utterly dominant, especially in the air, where he won 4/4 aerials. Made 10 clearances and kept Edin Dzeko quiet for the entire night. Immense. 7.5/10
Medhi Benatia: A near man of the match performance against his former team. In the right place at the right time on every Roma attack, making 2/2 interceptions and eight clearances. Made a telling contribution at the other end by scoring the only goal of the game. 8.0/10
Andrea Barzagli: More of a right centre-back than a right-back, marshaling Perotti and keeping the Roma attack relatively quiet throughout. Less effective in the final third but solid at the back. 6.5/10
Alex Sandro: Much better at the back and in his defensive duties overall, making 4/5 tackles and marking El Shaarawy very well. Some good dribbling on display and a few good deliveries into the box. 6.5/10
Midfield
Sami Khedira: A good display, often laying off the ball and making really smart runs into the box to support the attack. His passing was on point all night and he was a good attacking presence. 6.0/10
Blaise Matuidi: Excellent from start to finish in a brilliant box-to-box display. A good presence in front of the defence, providing the perfect partner for Pjanic. Provided good runs from midfield to pressure the Roma backline and supported the attack very well. 7.0/10
Miralem Pjanic: The heartbeat of the Juventus side. Collected the ball from deep and propelled the team forward with excellent passing – Slowed down the pace when needed and spread the play brilliantly. 7.5/10
Attack
Juan Cuadrado: A mixed display – Better at the back and covering in defence than going forward where he only managed one meaningful dribble down the flank. 6.0/10
Mario Mandzukic: Dominant in the air but a little wasteful with his chances. Great at the back when Juve sat back in the closing stages and made some very important clearances. 7.0/10
Gonzalo Higuain: So wasteful – Enjoyed plenty of the ball in the first half and wasted a handful of good chances before blazing over the bar in the second half when it was easier to score. Good at collecting the ball and holding up play but he should have scored at least one goal. 6.0/10
Substitutes
Federico Bernardeschi: Bought on for Cuadrado and immediately injected some much needed pace on the right-flank. 6.0/10
Claudio Marchisio: A good cameo display, coming for Matuidi to cover at the back and relieve the Roma pressure in the closing stages of the game. 6.5/10
Play 4,3,3 with two fast players supporting Higuain or Mandzukic. Dybala must play more.
Dybala must play! Never mind more, if it carries on much longer with him benched he will be off in the summer. He knows there are plenty of teams out there that will both play him and pay him more.
Precisely.
First game I have watched for a fair while…as I have been focusing on more nourishing matters than men kicking a ball around…yet whilst my passion for the game has dwindled, my interest remains. Though I have been finding the light of my beloved Gills more amusing and entertaining. There is something increasingly lifeless about the game under the brightest of lights…Still…
…I thought we were okay against Roma…They struggled to make chances, rarely commit numbers going forward and their midfield is too heavily weighted towards industry over invention. Not much seems to have changed other than we appear a little more robust defensively. Other than a couple of silly mistakes late on which could have led to a draw…or worse.
We made more chances than the visitors, not just Gonzalo was wasteful but also Mandzukic, who defended well, yet I remain convinced we will not see the best of this side until Dybala and Costa are playing with Higuain. Which means Mario is benched.
Sandro appears improved. Khedira very average, though at least in good physical condition. I am not so convinced of Benatia as a future rock to build a team of champions upon (that wont happen until Caldara comes in)…though his partnership with Chiellini might be the best we can hope for in the big games. As I mentioned elsewhere, Allegri plans his season to start proper in February. Everything leading up to the CL knock-out stages is more an exercise in conditioning, tactical exploration, team building. he cares little for momentum or entertainment, assuming, quite rightly, that the squad should be strong enough to deal with the constant changes and understand that the team comes first, fight well enough on all fronts as he harnesses the energy and works out our best system.
A shame for Howedes, for we need more strength in depth. Especially as Max has clearly ear-marked Rugani as second string for the time being at least.
Just as well we didnt sign Spinazzola, as with Sandro in poor form until late, we would have hugely missed the physical assurance of Asamoah…and likely be much worse off in the table.
Curious story of Dybala…I am never a fan of resting your best players unless they are injured or its before a huge game. Still, this is Allegri’s way. Better an excess of talents to choose from than deficit, but he remains for me the most naturally talented player in our ranks, alongside Pjanic. And I will hope to see him starting sooner rather than later. Or he will leave next Summer without us seeing his best, and under a dark cloud. Who to blame? Nobody needs to be blamed for anything presently, as our results are strong and our performances improved.
As I seem to remark every year at this stage…the major positive is that our rivals have already (perhaps) reached top gear, they have found their system and in turn, we have not yet moved out of 2nd or 3rd, have nowhere near a settled, ideal best XI and the potential to further improve is larger than that of our foes…
Wishing you all a jolly festive period.
Hello sir! Good to hear from you, things are quieter and poorer without you around to shine an alternative light on matters.
I too am reducing my football intake on TV this year, but it is the EPL that is taking the hit – only one MOTD watched all season so far! Personally I have literally no idea where Juventus are going with the squad and signings and selections. It’s a weird time at the moment judged on the recent history. Will we win title no 7 or the UCL, who knows. I am not optimistic, and I think it quite likely that neither Max or Dybala will be at the club next season.
Anyway, have a good festive period and pop back from time to time chap if you can.
Cheers.
Greetings old chum, and thanks for the salute!
I hope that you in turn are enjoying some love and adventure, if not merely pleasant tidings during the festive period.
Only began delving back into MOTD lately, to very little fanfare, the quality of football isn’t great, the defending gets worse every season and the decisions by the refs make their italian counterparts seem like butchers.
I agree with you on the Max/Dybala departure inkling and feel we will take the league title as we appear to be improving defensively, with more to come offensively, but still…a little all over the place, which ties in with my suggestion that Max plans for the knock-out stages and beyond, everything is geared towards that. Impossible to predict much in the CL. I hope we can deal with Spurs who are more haphazard than us and much weaker defensively, yet they have a fair amount of youthful exuberance and a wily manager. Stop Kane, Ali and the elfman, and all should be well.
And I think that strange looking beast is a lama!
Take care comrade!
Dan
You have been missed, TGP! I hope you are enjoying your other endeavors.
I’m curious why Cuadrado didn’t make it into your commentary 🙂 Just kidding!!
Good to have you back.
Cheers Jack! I am tentatively delving once again, and will strive to produce a youth report at some stage soon, though my scribbles are very much focused elsewhere…and as for dear Juan…i thought he was fine. I just find it mildly irritating to presume that Max’s pragmatic approach could well us industriously move through the second half of the season with Costa, Bernadeschi and Dybala all playing bit part roles…All of whom I wish were playing but they are all more individual talents than adding more easily to the collective. However it is the ability to mix the individual talents with the collective which marks a top drawer manager. They are difference makers, and though there might be some teething problems, they should all have by now been integrated into the starting XI.
Mandzukic and even Cuadrado (to a much lesser degree) offer greater solidity in midfield and support deep. Khedira offers – at least to Max’s mind – more assurance for the same. Which leaves our attack far less potent than it could be with the superior attacking talents on the field.
Hope all is well in your world, my friend.
If we are interested in poaching yet another Roma player, I would veer as far away from Strootman as is humanly possible, and instead propose that Under kid. Got a Dybala-like haircut, got some Dybala-like skills. Probably doesn’t got an idiot brother stirring up sh-t.