Juventus 4-0 Torino

Scorers: Dybala 16, 91 (J), Pjanic 40 (J), Alex Sandro 57 (J)

Paulo Dybala scored a double as Juventus dominated 10-man Torino to secure a comfortable victory over their city rivals

Biggest winner/biggest loser:

The biggest winner has to be Paulo Dybala who is unstoppable at present. 10 goals in 6 games is an incredible return for a forward who’s had to adapt to a new position and carry the burden/expectation of wearing the ’10’ shirt for the new season. He’s matured so much in the space of one summer, taking on the responsibility for creating chances for the team and scoring the goals that have dragged us over the finish line. I’d also like to single out Salvatore Sirigu who turned in an exceptional performance – but for him, the score would have been in double digit’s, so he’s a winner…..of sorts.

The only ‘loser’ to speak of would be Gonzalo Higuain who was dropped for the match as he was in need of a rest…..according to Allegri, anyway. Whatever i read into it, I can’t help but feel Pipa would have had a field day against that Toro defence tonight. A ‘loser’ in the sense that he missed out on the chance to score goals, but no other sense.

Takeaways from the performance/areas of improvement:

I’ll try not to get too carried away as we played with a man advantage for much of the match and had the home advantage, however everything seems to be clicking into place. The formation is settling well, especially when Miralem Pjanic and Blaise Matuidi are rectifying the problems that we had last season where we lacked the bite and creativity in the centre. On the flanks, Douglas Costa and Juan Cuadrado were excellent, cutting in from wide to beat the Toro fullbacks, both deserving a goal each for their efforts. Stephan Lichtsteiner looked really lively on the right while Alex Sandro put in a tireless performance on the right. It’s a long winded way of saying we’re doing everything right at the moment, considering the set backs and injuries sustained. The goals are flowing, Dybala is taking the bull by the horns with his displays in attacks and there doesn’t look to be any obvious weaknesses in the team. It’s hard to pick fault or find any area of the pitch that needs improving after that display, however I’d level some small criticism on Cuadrado for some of his wayward passing.

Injury updates:

It looks as though we came through the match unscathed with Allegri rotating key players early on. We’re still awaiting updates on Benedikt Howedes, Claudio Marchisio and Sami Khedira as there seems to be no clear indicator as to when they will return to the squad.

Outlook for next fixture:

You couldn’t have scripted a better outcome before  our next match. A 4-0 pummelling of our cross town rivals in the local derby. How sweet it is. This should be a real confidence booster going into the clash with Olympiakos mid-week. Everything seems to be clicking into place at just the right time for Juve and there should be a real positivity around the camp ahead of our Champions League tie.

Opposition:

In a word, dreadful. The challenge for the red card was despicable, and to add insult to injury, Baselli had the audacity to argue with the ref after the challenge. They never really gave us much trouble on the day before or after they were reduced to ten men. The bright spot for Torino has got to be Sirigu who played absolutely astoundingly on the night. Kept the score line much more respectable than it probably should have been.

Best new signing on the field:

I think this is a draw between Matuidi and Douglas Costa. Both did admirably in their roles today. Matuidi has fit into the side amazingly well. HIs work rate and shielding of Pjanic has made the double pivot a much more viable entity for us. Costa did well on the flank and the partnership with Sandro seems to be getting the best out of both of them. Did well with his trickery and had a few sublime crosses. Was unlucky not to come away with an assist or a goal on the night.

Manager Review

Mad Max, you’ve done it again. Thoroughly out managed the opponent today. Did well to start some new players and didn’t commit his usual sin of subbing too late in the game. He seems to be formulating what his best tactical options are in terms of personnel, as well as sorting who the definitive starting eleven should be. A few more positive outings and we should really see the best Juve side we can offer. Considering the mild injury crisis that has been happening, he’s done very well. He also seems to be sorting the defense as well and starting to deploy a strategy that works well for our back line. Two clean sheets the last two games, and one lucky goal against Sassuolo.

Formation/squad selection grade: A

Considering the midweek game against Fiorentina, the injuries to the midfield and the upcoming game against Olympiacos, I think the starting lineup was the right one. The only downside was perhaps not seeing Bernardeschi from the start, considering Cuadrado will almost certainly start in the game on Wednesday. Dropping Higuain made sense as he should be the one to lead the attack against the Greek champions, my only concern is that the player looks low on confidence and really needs to have everyone behind him.

Lineups:

Juventus: Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Benatia, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Pjanic, Matuidi (Bentancur 72); Cuadrado (Bernardeschi 62), Dybala, Douglas Costa; Mandzukic (Higuain 80)

Torino: Sirigu, De Silvestri, N’Koulou, Lyanco, Ansaldi; Rincon (Gustafson 75), Baselli; Falque (Acquah 30), Ljajic, Niang (Boye 70); Belotti

Ref: Giacomelli

Sent off: Baselli 25 (T)

Statistics:

Man of the Match: Paulo Dybala

  Flop of the Match: N/A

  Corners: 6

  Pass Accuracy: 93%

  Shots on Target: 10

  Total Shots: 23

  Ball Possession: 66%

  Formation:  4-3-2-1