Juventus 1-0 Fiorentina Player Ratings

Sturaro did absolutely fine from what I saw. He was tasked with making sure he was first to the ball for tackles and the RB zone was nut run through. He gave zero going forward but what do you expect for a CM playing as a RB? I saw nothing of his game, of what we can expect for someone out of position, which was dreadful. He worked very hard, defended well, won his tackles, covered, marked. Kept his passing simple.

Granted he is not Lichsteiner, or Sandro, or even De Sciglio, but this is because he is a central midfielder…not a fullback. Similar on the other flank really with Asamoah doing very little going forward.

it was depressing to see us time wasting near the end to hold out for a 1-0 home win over ten man fiorentina.

“Higauin looks out of shape and lazy.”

This. I despair at the number of times I have to read nonsense such as “Higuain is a footballer, not a fitness model”; “A few more kilos can’t harm, Brazilian Ronaldo was also chubby”, “Higuain scored 32 times last season”.

If there is a player I consider worth a comparison, it is Edinson Cavani. I see Higuain and him as similar in many respects: same finishing skills, shot power, age, South American background, similar difficulties with their national team where they play second fiddle to more skilled players.

But where the Uruguayan stands out is just how fit he manages to stay. Don’t you think this does not benefit his team: Cavani’s runs when his team is attacking helps his teammates as he draws defenders and opens up spaces (all while averaging 24 league goals per season over the past 7 years, a superior and far more consistent return than Higuain’s). When his team doesn’t have the ball he defends diligently, pressing with hunger. Yet I am told by Higuain’s fans that Allegri is asking him to defend too much!.

Higuain cannot manage any of that, even if he wanted to. Because he is chronically unfit. A player with his level of fitness cannot cover as much ground as a fully fit one. He loses that extra second which would allow him to sprint past a defender to beat them to the ball. He cannot run as much as he should to be opening up spaces for Dybala, Cuadrado, etc.

I am fed up of reading that an unfit striker does not affect their own performance as well as their team’s, because it is incorrect. And even if that was true, Higuain should have the decency to turn up in good shape – if only because he was bought for such a high fee and has been chosen by Juventus to lead their attack into a new cycle.

Far superior players to him (Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Lewandowski) somehow also manage to keep fit even though they could grow complacent and give in to the temptation of relying on natural talent alone. So Higuain has no excuse of his own for complacency.

I was never enthusiastic with that transfer. Sadly, the player is showing all the negative signs displayed with his previous clubs Real Madrid and Napoli – one of a striker who has a gift for finishing, but wastes it because he can’t be bothered to put in that extra effort which would bring him on a superior level.

I’d have given Bentancur a 7, considering his age and experience. Yet Mandzukic – other the the header – offered very little. he ran hard, missed an easier chance than the header with his right boot…other than which didn’t achieve much. One header from close range, easily saved. ANd Juan was his usual self, one good shot, maybe 2 very good crosses, other than which fairly inept. Poor decision making, poor passing. Great pace and that 1/5 decent end product.

Higuain is a curious case. Dybala also looked very average in this game. Seems more they were very well marshalled by the visitors than both poor.

I’d agree with Rav that CUadrado was one of the best players on the pitch…but this was, for me, more a sign of a game of low quality offered by both sides. Neither side created much nor produced more than 1 or 2 passes in a row, which made for a very poor spectacle.