Juventus left it late but some magic from Paulo Dybala was enough to see off Lokomotiv in a hard-fought 2-1 victory.
Juventus Player Ratings
Szczesny: Perhaps could have done better on the opening goal but was a spectator for large periods thereafter . 6.0/10
Juan Cuadrado: This might be the longest streak of consistent form he’s shown in recent years. Excellent at right-back, covering the flanks well and delivering cross after cross. At least two of his balls into the box deserved to have someone on the end of them. 7.0/10
Leonardo Bonucci: Started well, as always, but his laziness on the Lokomotiv break could have cost us dearly – Really should be doing more than just flicking out a leg to try and stop a counter. Better as the game went on and proved important as Juve pushed foward from the back. 6.0/10
Matthijs De Ligt: Better…..but still looking shaky at times and prone to small errors in judgement. Has to work on that and staying focussed from start to finish. 6.0/10
Alex Sandro: Afforded plenty of space from the Lokomotiv players and readily pushed forward at every opportunity to give Juve added width in attack. 6.5/10
Midfield
Sami Khedira: Hard not to sound like a worn out record or to come across as biased, but he offered Juve next to nothing in the opening 45′ and was rightly substituted early in the second. Poor. 5.0/10
Miralem Pjanic: No goals or assists, but his presence is vital against the more defensive stubborn sides as he moved the ball quickly into attack and kept trying to find the forwards. 6.5/10
Blaise Matuidi: Wasteful and provided precious little to help the attack. Lashed at a good chance and looked off the pace when he was booked. 5.0/10
Rodrigo Bentancur: Seemed lost when starting out in a more advanced role but settled in better when he played a little deeper as he saw more of the ball and helped Juve see out the game. 6.0/10
Attack
Cristiano Ronaldo: Somewhat anonymous tonight, had an early opportunity that he wasted and his free-kicks were wasted each time. 5.5/10
Paulo Dybala: Looked poor to begin with but looked revitalised when playing behind Pipa and Ronaldo. Turned the game with a beautiful strike before securing all three points late on. A testament to the mentality of the youngster who really took the game by the scruff of the neck and dragged Juve over the finish line. Bravo. 8.5/10
Substitutes
Gonzalo Higuain: A contribution that can be measured in more than goals – His mere presence up against the Russian’s back line was enough to create space for his teammates. Had a number of half chances that he could have taken but again, he did more than score tonight. 6.5/10
Adrien Rabiot: A good run out for the youngster as he helped bring Juve further up the pitch and maintain pressure on Lokomotiv. 6.0/10
Federico Bernardeschi: N/A
