Goals from Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain returned Juventus to the top of the table following a thrilling 2-1 win in the Derby D’Italia.
Juventus Player Ratings
Szczesny: Could do nothing on the penalty, even though he went in the right direction, but he made some great saves in the second half including coming out to make a vital block. Excellent. 7.0/10
Juan Cuadrado: Moving to right-back seems to have worked wonders for him of late and while he didn’t get forward as much, he bought balance to Juve and made a few important clearances and interceptions. 6.5/10
Leonardo Bonucci: Excellent in the opening 45 minute as he seemed to have the measure of Lukaku but a little off the pace in the second as Inter stepped it up a gear. 7.0/10
Matthijs De Ligt: Seems harsh to give him a lower score, but he caused the penalty and should have done better. That said, in the second half, he stepped it up a notch, with three clearances and two interceptions. Still needs to work on his focus but it’s another game and another chance to learn for the youngster. 6.5/10
Alex Sandro: Put Juve at risk picking up a silly yellow card early in the game – After that, he was foot perfect, covering really well at the back and giving Juve some added width when needed. 6.0/10
Midfield
Sami Khedira: Anonymous for spells in the first but marginally better in the second, creating a chance where he could have done better. Seems clear though that he doesn’t have the legs any more for the full 90 minutes. 6.0/10
Miralem Pjanic: His third superb performance in a row and possibly his best this season. Covered every blade of grass, fighting for the ball in midfield and playing some brilliant passes to keep Inter pushed back. Provided the assist for the opener and was arguably the man of the match. 7.5/10
Blaise Matuidi: Did some solid work in the centre, robbing Inter of the ball, but his connection with the attacking players was non-existent at times, particularly alongside Cristiano. 6.0/10
Attack
Federico Bernardeschi: One shot aside, he was anonymous for much of the game and failed to impose himself or create anything of note. Poor. 5.0/10
Cristiano Ronaldo: He may not have got the goals but his presence was a key factor to the victory, so much so that Conte had to sub off Godin as Cristiano had his measure. Hit the post, hit one at Handanovic and had one chalked off for the most marginal of offsides. Despite that, he was excellent – Side note, his defensive contribution has to be factored in tonight. 7.0/10
Paulo Dybala: Just sublime, from start to finish. Opened the scoring early on then continued to create chances for him and his teammates. Marginally offside for Ronaldo’s disallowed goal but his overall play tonight was exceptional. A new number 10 for the ages. 7.5/10
Substitutes
Rodrigo Bentancur: Came on later in the game and continued to give Juve the right tempo before playing a perfect assist for Higuain’s winner. 6.5/10
Emre Can: Gave Juve some much needed muscle in the centre and helped see out the result. 6.0/10
Gonzalo Higuain: From the moment he came on, you could see he was fired up to win it – Took that winning goal with a cool finish and kept Inter pegged back while offering some physicality in the box. Excellent. 7.0/10
