Federico Bernardeschi returned to haunt Fiorentina, opening the scoring with a brilliant free-kick before Gonzalo Higuain struck late on to take Juventus back to the top of the table.
Player Ratings
Defence
Gigi Buffon: Made a few routine saves before being left stranded by his defence when Dias’ shot hit the post. Made a key save with his feet to keep Juve 1-0 ahead. 7.0/10
Giorgio Chiellni: Started well but made an uncharacteristic mistake when he raised his hands for an obvious penalty – thankfully it was cancelled out by VAR. Improved as the game developed and was much better in the second half, providing a great assist for Higuain’s goal. 7.0/10
Medhi Benatia: Up against it with Simeone in the first half and looked caught out for pace when Fiorentina countered. Stepped up markedly as the game progressed and looked his formidable self as he helped Juve to another clean sheet. 6.5/10
Alex Sandro: A muddling opening half, often caught out by Gil Dias. Looked a far better player in the closing part of the game, finding space past Benassi and Milenkovic. 6.5/10
Stephan Lichtsteiner: A poor display in the opening half, struggling to contain Chiesa and picking up a poor yellow card. Listless as the game developed and eventually subbed off. 5.5/10
Midfield
Sami Khedira: Out-muscled and outfought by Vertout for the opening ’45. No tackles, passes, energy or invention at all and looked a shadow of the player who bossed Sassuolo last week 5.0/10
Claudio Marchisio: Failed to make a real impression in the game, often caught out of place while some of his passing was plain poor. Might take a while to get fully back into his rhythm against the biggest sides. 5.5/10
Miralem Pjanic: Uncharacteristically poor in the beginning stages of the game. Pressed high up the pitch for the ball, leading to some wayward passing. Improved the tempo as Juve took control and saw out the match well. 6.0/10
Attack
Federico Bernardeschi: Exceptional The mentality and confidence he showed was exemplary, given the occasion. Played really well on the flank and caused Biraghi no end of problems. Scored the opening goal with a beautiful free-kick and never stopped running. Excellent. 7.5/10
Mario Mandzukic: Really good in the defensive phased of the game but didn’t really add that killer touch or pass in the attacking phase. His passing and crossing was a little too slow and ponderous . 6.0/10
Gonzalo Higuain: Lacked any kind of service for much of the game but it only took one pass from Chiellini to open the defence and for Pipa to strike. Deadly and clinical, scoring 6 goals in his last 4. 7.0/10
Substitutes
Andrea Barzagli: Came on for Lichtsteiner and played the game more as a CB than a RB, keeping the defence tight and controlled. 6.0/10
Douglas Costa: Far more direct and unpredictable than Mandzukic – His running and pressing late in the game helped relieve some of the pressure. 6.0/10
Rodrigo Bentancur: A few minutes to make a late cameo, nothing of note. N/A
Hard to believe we won 0 – 2 really! I got nothing out of this one in the predictions this week……
weird rating and like you wrote dar, hard to believe we won, shit performance once again, cant believe we only lost 2 matches this season, we gotta be much more aggresive against spurs , press more, run more, otherwise we can forget any success
Yes, Spurs will be tricky. They are not a great team, but give Mr Kane a chance and he will put it in the back of the net. Beware Juve!
Spurs are by far my favourite side in the premier league. Entertaining, great club ethos with focus on youth and offensive football. Some superb players all developing at similar times. Manager of dignity and intelligence. Kane is probably my favourite english footballer of all time…His game is so much more expansive than just a big lad up top. He can dribble, create, hold the ball up, shoot with both feet, threaten from all over the field. Absolutely superb player and he keeps getting better and better. For me he is a better striker than Higuain. Already.
The biggest threat however comes from arguably the most underrated midfielder in england – Dembele. He was always a beast, and one of very few players I have long felt would instantly improve us in an area we are lacking. Other than his physicality and sturdy engine he has great feet for a big man. I really cannot see any other in England or Italy who play in his role and are obviously equal or superior. The nearest we have to anyone capable of his holding role is Marchisio, who needs a fair stint in the first XI to regain his sharpness, which I am unsure he will receive…We have nothing to combat or contain Dembele as the Dm position remains one of the more obvious areas we need to improve (this is becoming a long term problem)
Should be a great game. Curious to see how our defence fares against one of the world’s best strikers, that irritating fiend Ali and the Elfman.
Yes will be interesting. I think Spurs away from home against a famous team in a noisy cauldron like ours will get a touch of stage fright. They can be great, but often are not. Mind you, cannot say we are much different!
I have enjoyed watching Spurs this season and last really, far more than I have endured watching Juve, my friend…Perhaps I am overstating their potency and we appear stronger on paper and in terms of experience. yet other than the drubbing of sassuolo, our form has been rarely better than average. WHich is a testament to Allegri and the calibre of the squad I suppose for we remain in a great position in all competitions without finding our best form…Still, we will need to find that form at some stage, this season or next.
yep, Kane is killer.hope Giorgio will keep him quiet.