Juve struggled in the opening half but goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Miralem Pjanic were enough to settle it against a stubborn and organised SPAL side.

 

Juventus Player Ratings

Gigi Buffon: One save to make in the entire game – An easy game for the veteran who notched up a clean sheet on the day he became a record-breaker.  6.0/10

Juan Cuadrado: Seems to have a little more to offer from right-back and while he gave away a needless and potentially dangerous free-kick early on, he got better as the game developed and managed a decent cross or two. 6.0/10

Leonardo Bonucci: One shaky moment aside, he was tidy and efficient at the back and played a few some good passes.  6.5/10

Matthijs De Ligt: Four clearances, three tackles, 62/70 passes completed but more than anything else, he looked confident, able to read SPAL’s attacking situations well and looked as though he is adapting very well. 7.0/10

Blaise Matuidi: All things considered, I think he did a fine job at left-back, making some decent runs forward and not looking too flustered at the back. 6.0/10

 

Midfield

Sami Khedira: Provided an assist and had one or two encouraging moments when he got into good positions. A satisfactory game. 6.0/10

Aaron Ramsey: Bright and inventive from the outset, always with his head up, always looking to play in his teammates – Excellent awareness – his contribution overall and link up with the attack is looking promising. 6.5/10

Miralem Pjanic: 104 out of 114 passes completed, excellent awareness of where his teammates were and his opening goal was stunning. Played a part in the second as well and has looked so much better in the last matches. 7.5/10

Adrien Rabiot: Once again, it feels a bit harsh to be judging him this early on, but there were some encouraging moments in the first half followed by an anonymous period and then a repeat in the second. Needs more game time if he’s to show what he’s truly capable of. 5.5/10

 

Attack

Cristiano Ronaldo: Cut a frustrated figure in the opening half, finding little space. Much improved in the second and had five shots on target overall, denied only by some brilliance from Berisha. Finally got his much deserved goal thanks to some superb play from Dybala. Excellent. 7.5/10

Paulo Dybala: Another game where he showed his versatility and while he didn’t get his goal, his assist for Ronaldo’s header was perfect – Could have easily had two goals of his own, but for Berisha becoming Superman today. 7.0/10

 

Substitutes

Federico Bernardeschi/Rodrigo Bentancur/Emre Can A collective score for the substitutes who helped steady things but little of note beyond that. 5.5/10