Juventus took a two-goal lead in Bergamo but it wasn’t enough to beat a plucky Atalanta side who fought back to claim a point in a hotly contested match.
Player Ratings
Defence
Gigi Buffon: A poor night from the captain who was at fault for Atalanta’s first goal. You can argue that the pace on the ball and the angle made it hard for Gigio to hold onto the effort, but a keeper of his calibre should be doing better, especially when the ball was fired straight at him. Not sure he could do much on the second goal as his defence simply failed to move (as did he) for Atalanta’s equaliser. 5.0/10
Stephan Lichtsteiner: Poor from start to finish. His defending was lacklustre and he allowed himself to get caught up in the theatrics of the game and earned a needless booking. Could easily have been sent off and was substituted by the boss for fear he might lose his head. Disappointing. 4.0/10
Giorgio Chiellini: Not entirely sure what he was doing on the equalising goal as he seemed caught in two minds and didn’t look like he was actually marking anyone. A poor display overall in the second half after such a encouraging start where he ventured forward into the midfield to get things going. 5.0/10
Medhi Benatia: Ball watching on Atalanta’s second goal and his whole night was categorised by an average display. He did well on a few occasions when bringing the ball out from the back and trying to orchestrate play, but on the whole. he looks a shadow of the player he once was. 5.5/10
Kwadwo Asamoah: Contrary to popular belief, he is a capable left-back and good enough to cover. He played well throughout, defending well, connecting well with Mandzukic and doing a good job on the left. 6.0/10
Midfield
Rodrigo Bentancur: Another brilliant and composed display from the young Uruguayan who didn’t allow himself to be overawed by the occasion. Intelligent passing, good tackling, awareness of his teammates and good work at the back. Perhaps needs to work on tracking back a little more to aid the defence in tight spots. 7.0/10
Blaise Matuidi: A good, hard-working display in midfield. Played his part in the opening goal by testing Berisha from distance and was generally very good in breaking up attacks and brining Juve forward. 6.5/10
Attack
Federico Bernardeschi: One of the few highlights on a disappointing night. Handed his first Juventus start and had an early effort saved before sneaking in to fire Matuidi’s rebounded effort beyond Berisha. Played a key part in the second goal providing the assist for Higuain with some smart play and was the best player on the night in Bianconeri. 7.0/10
Paulo Dybala: Abysmal. Missing for much of the match and unable to find a foothold against Atalanta. The one opportunity he had to make his mark on the game, he wasted. A poorly taken penalty and a poor night for La Joya. A reminder that he is far from the finished product, despite playing well in other lesser matches. 4.5/10
Mario Mandzukic: Did all that was asked of him and you can see why Allegri finds hi so valuable in games of this nature. His goal should have stood but despite that, he played well enough on the night and did a good job against the Atalanta back line. 6.0/10
Gonzalo Higuain: Back to his best, pressuring the Caldara and Masiello early on to try and create space for his teammates. Took his goal with a typically Pipa0esque finish and perhaps he would have been better suited to take the penalty. 7.0/10
Substitutes
Andrea Barzagli: Subbed on late for Lichtsteiner and did his best to keep Gomez and Spinazzola at bay . N/A
Juan Cuadrado: Limited time to try and make an impact but was very one-dimensional . N/A
Douglas Costa: A live-wire for the few minutes that he had to try and impact the game. Perhaps he should have been on sooner in place of Mandzukic. N/A
Not agreeing with most ratings. First half we we were perfect except for buffon. Defence played well and outplayed Atalanta for most of the half. Only Buffon who parished in front of a modest free kick let them in the game again.
The second Atalanta goal was brilliant as for the cross as for the outstanding header. What could the defence do. He flew meters above the ground and the finish was perfect. We could have scored more we actually scored the third one but for some absurd matter it got disallowed.
Linc foul was discussable at best as it Gómez who flew from behind to get Linc ball. IF it was that hard HE WOULD HAVE NEEDED MEDICAL ATTENTION. Var is funny at best. Still very good game from the lads. Very good performance and much more substance than the lucksture showing in the champions league.
This is the beauty of ratings and debate – we all see it differently – First half, i agree, we were very good……but we didn;t kill the game off. All those players on the pitch know that Atalanta never give up, so we should have pushed for 3-4 goals at a minmum, considering Atalanta gave us the time and chances.
For the Atalanta header, we had 3-4 men in the box marking Atalanta player who numbered roughly the same amount. It was poor to not have more men in the box – they have free reign to cross and score.
We both agree on VAR – an absolute farce, and only in Italy could they fuck it up so spectacularly. At least 2 calls that were totally wrong in both cases.
I went back to you tube to watch the second goal. Frankly if it was to someone it was up to Bentacour or matuidi to follow the atalanta lad as he came flying in. Not sure how many would struck with their head that power and that precision.
If it was on the other end we would praise our lad.
On Var foul decision are to be done on the field. If so every contrast you need to see replay off who gets yellow whom not. It is ridiculous that a foul if it was I have my doubts on midfield could influence a goal 20 seconds after.
Great work my friend