Mario Mandzukic and Paulo Dybala ran the attack as Juve scored twice against Lazio despite only having one shot on target.
Do you agree with our ratings ? Have your say below.
Gigi Buffon
Evergreen and majestic. Santo Buffon had a quiet night. Came for crosses with authority, handled the two shots which went straight at him with ease and tried to play the ball out short from the back whenever possible. Untested
7.0 / 10
Stephan Lichtsteiner
Never troubled, firm in the challenge and tried to support the front men when circumstances allowed. Due to the width of Lazio he was unable to regularly make up numbers in the final third but went about his business deeper with confidence and composure.
7.0 / 10
Giorgio Chiellini
Ubiquitous in defence. King Giorgio is hitting his stride. Indomitable in the air. Harried and chopped and scythed with perfection. Definitely stepped up a gear in recent weeks and has taken over from Bonucci as the CB able to carry the ball out of defence as high as progress allows. Fought until the final whistle and when Lazio created their best chance of the game, late on, it was the bandaged warrior who did enough to worry Klose into scuffing his shot. Whilst Dybala will steal the plaudits, Chiellini’s impeccable, powerful display wins him my vote for Man of the Match. Superb
8.5 / 10
Andrea Barzagli
His covering and positioning is a joy to behold. When fit and sharp, as he is close to now, Barzagli is one of the finest centre-backs in the world. Made light work of all challenges, offered no space to his opponents. Seemingly quiet, but everywhere he needed to be
7.0 / 10
Leonardo Bonucci
Hardly noticed throughout. Solid in the air, robust in the challenge, kept things simple and flowing.
7.0 / 10
Claudio Marchisio
Still far from top form. Il Principino is one of those players who takes a while to regain full match sharpness after a lengthy injury lay-off. Hardly showed in the final third, other than with a great effort from range in the dying minutes. Other than which, positioned himself in an anchor man role, shielding the defence, adding guile and pressure to the stalwart rearguard routine. Fitness is improving and the sharpness will come, but presently he is far removed from the Pirlo regista impersonator we saw last term. This may well be directed from Allegri, or it could simply be a case of a constantly changing midfield around him and Claudio sticking to the task first and foremost of anchoring the team. Solid hatchet man work.
6.5 / 10
Stefano Sturaro
A quiet game by the youngster’s recent standards, yet he hustled and bustled, avoided putting a foot out of place and contributed well enough to keeping the ball moving and protected the defence. Always eager to receive and either drive forward or release the ball. His development is coming along very nicely indeed. A respectable showing.
7.0 / 10
Kwadwo Asamoah
His first start for many moons with his inclusion in the starting XI more forced by the absence of Pogba and Khedira than ideal. Regardless, it is a major bonus for the side to have him back in the ranks, and he will improve in potency as he picks up more minutes. Deployed in his more natural CM role, the Ghanian proved solid in both halves of the field, appeared naturally comfortable with Sandro and earns the applause of the coach and myself for plugging the Pogba hole with strength and impressive drive.
7.0 / 10
Alex Sandro
Dynamic on the flank and his talent on the ball allows him to transition from defence to attack in the blink of an eye. Played some beautiful, quick one touch passing with Dybala and Asamoah , distribution from the wing was consistently top drawer and looked assured throughout. Great pace, wonderful potential. The 24 year old Brazilian is beginning to look like a wonderful signing by Beppe.
8.0 / 10
Mario Mandzukic
Whilst the absence of Morata from the starting XI alongside recent comments of the coach regarding the Spaniard’s form may well be bothering both fans and the player, on Mario’s showing last night, I can have no complaints. For the giant Croat is clearly moving up the gears. His pace, determination, closing down and link up play was dripping with class. Every part of his game is improving and still there is clearly more to come. If a striker is nowhere near any goalscoring chances, we can but hope that he works damn hard all over the field. And on this score, our towering prima punta was quality. Gave the opponents not a second rest, brilliantly assisted in defensive scenarios making great use of his ability in the air and is proving Allegri right with his selection over Morata.
7.5 / 10
Paulo Dybala
7 goals and 3 assists from 10 starts in Serie A is a fine return for a 22 year old signed for huge sacks of gold in the Summer. His confidence is growing as he becomes more comfortable in the role playing in between the front and midfield lines. His turn of pace is good, yet I suspect can be further improved and his touch is phenomenal. Always eager to play one touch football, composed when adding a carefully applied dose of flair to escape from tight positions and more clinical in and around the box game by game. Still needs to work on his shooting, but he forced the first by finding the perfect position for a rebound and the manner in which he conjured and executed the second strike was nothing short of world class. It must be noted that Allegri is morphing Dybala into a role reminiscent of Tevez, which is markedly different from where he found such success last season at Palermo. Rather than finding himself on the end of attacking moves, he is using his speed, control and quality on the ball to roam often deep, intercept, receive the ball and get the team moving up field with lightning speed. At his age there is huge depth for improvement, and whilst I was initially concerned that the weight of the transfer fee and move to a big club might sit heavy on his young shoulders, Paulo is demonstrating incredible professionalism and maturity, working hard and reaping the rewards. The kid is probably destined for greatness.
8.0 / 10
