Juventus went from sublime to ridiculous as they let slip of a three goal lead and only snatched victory courtesy of a late Napoli own goal to see it finish 4-3.
Juventus Player Ratings
Szczesny: An excellent opening half where he swatted away a seemingly goal-bound effort before parrying another. Hard to say he was truly at fault for any of Napoli’s 3 goals as his defenders left him with too much to do: He almost got a hand to the first, tried to make himself big for the second and had no chance at all on the third. 6.5/10
Mattia De Sciglio: Another positive opening for the right-back who did rather well in his defensive role and even managed a good overlapping run or two with Costa. Substituted off with injury for Danilo 6.0/10
Leonardo Bonucci: Led well in Chiellini’s absence and was at the heart of Juve’s play, bringing the ball out from the back. Made an excellent tackle on Mertens when Napoli had a decent counter-attack. Poor in the second half, constantly berating the referee before giving away the free-kick that Napoli scored their first from – He should have done better on that set-piece as well. Could have ventured a tackle on Napoli’s second as the ball in was too easy. 6.0/10
Matthijs De Ligt: Cool, calm, confident, never looked rushed or in any kind of pressure in the opening 45. Did the simple things well to start with but was totally at sea for the second Napoli goal. Really should have done better on the third Napoli goal as well, but he can say he’s had a hell of an initiation into Serie A and really needs to do better. Quite possibly a problem with communication between him and Bonucci but that will improve in time. 5.0/10
Alex Sandro: Another excellent opening half for the Brazilian who pushed up at every opportunity and really provided all the width and threat for Juve’s attack. Gave away a stupid free kick for Napoli’s third, but that aside, he was decent for much of the game and far more consistent. 6.5/10
Midfield
Sami Khedira: His positioning and runs were a real threat in the opening half, but his finishing lacked, and he could have had a brace to his name. Despite that, his presence and physicality in the centre of the pitch made a difference. Probably one of the few players who escaped the night with some credit. 6.0/10
Blaise Matuidi: Good work rate as always, but still flapping in the opposition half. Did well on both counters, but he struggled after Khedira came off and it’s unfair to expect him to plug the gigantic black hole that is Juve’s midfield, single-handely. 6.0/10
Miralem Pjanic: Typically Pjanic-esque performance: good passing, a good tackle or two….but not much else. 6.0/10
Attack
Douglas Costa: A ball of energy, electric down the right and seemingly too much for Napoli to cope with. Played a good pass to open the scoring and got another assist for his efforts. Could have scored the winner and gave Ghoulam no peace. Exceptional. 7.0/10
Gonzalo Higuain: Unselfish, as he was last week, and his work paid off. He dropped deep to collect the ball, held up play brilliantly and took his goal with a sublime finish that was throwback to the Pipa of old. His awareness in attack made the difference as he played some great passes and proved difficult for Manolas to contain. 7.0/10
Cristiano Ronaldo: A little anonymous for the opening half but took his goal really well in the second and his movement, dribbling and intelligent runs helped make space for the others. 7.0/10
Substitutes
Danilo: Did surprisingly well after coming on, scoring the opener just 30 seconds into his Juve debut. Was good at right back, making 3 dribbles, 2 tackles, 2 interceptions and 2 clearances. 7.0/10
Emre Can: Offered precious little, was easily beaten and looked rusty to say the least. Much more needed. 5.0/10
Paulo Dybala: Fifteen minutes to make a mark simply wasn’t long enough for La Joya who barely had a chance to get into the match. N/A
