Juventus played another poor game but a moment of brilliance from Paulo Dybala was enough to snatch three points and keep the Bianconeri at the top of the table.
Juventus Player Ratings
Szczesny: Made a great save from a difficult angle to deny Piatek before making another good stop from a Hernandez shot from distance…..and then denying Piatek, yet again. Lost count how many times he kept Milan out in the second and was easily the man of the match. 8.0/10
Juan Cuadrado: His control and attacking intent was superb in the opening 45 to the point where he was one of the few players to emerge with credit. Picked up where he left on in the second to be one of the few bright sparks on the night. 6.5/10
Leonardo Bonucci: Well in control at the back with some smart positioning and interceptions. Six clearances, three out of four aerials won and a solid performance overall. 6.0/10
Matthijs De Ligt: Looked confident and made an important interception early on – distributed the ball well from the back and was equally good in the second, covering well and making some vital headed clearances. 6.5/10
Alex Sandro: Managed to get forward to overlap but was pushed back a little more when Suso was switched out wide. Two dribbles and three interceptions to end the night as one of the better Juve players. 6.0/10
Midfield
Miralem Pjanic: A really woeful opening half with some misplaced balls and poor decision-making overall. Looked a little better in the second but didn’t really get to dictate as well as he usually does. 6.0/10
Blaise Matuidi: Once again lacking any decisive control when it really mattered and struggled to contribute anything of note the entire game. 5.0/10
Rodrigo Bentancur: A mixed first 45 minutes looking a little lost on occasions and unable to stamp his authority on the match but still managed five tackles. Looked a little brighter as the game came to a close and played a great ball that Higuain should have done better with. 6.0/10
Federico Bernardeschi: One good moment doesn’t make up for the poor performance in the opening half where he failed to create anything of note. Duly substituted and the form he’s in right now, he doesn’t deserve to start. 4.0/10
Attack
Cristiano Ronaldo: One saved effort aside, he looked off the pace once again and really failed to get a grip on the game in a meaningful way. Was rightfully substituted off and perhaps a break is exactly what he needs to recover some form and more importantly, to recover from his injury. 5.0/10
Gonzalo Higuain: Two half-chances in the opening half, one of which he really should have done better with but his work-rate was exceptional. Combined with a teammate once again to score the decisive goal when it really mattered, playing the assist for Dybala’s winner. 7.0/10
Substitutes
Paulo Dybala: Once again, his introduction proved vital as his movement caused Milan problems and his brilliant interplay with Higuain opened the scoring. Excellent. 7.5/10
Douglas Costa: His pace and ability to run at and beat his man makes him one of the few players in the team that always offers a threat – showed that once again tonight. 6.5/10
Adrien Rabiot: Came on for Matuidi and offered Juve a little more going forward. 6.0/10
