Juventus gave a lacklustre performance but still managed to grind out a win thanks to Sami Khedira, making it 11 wins against Lazio in their last 12 matches.
Do you agree with our ratings ? Have your say below.
Gigi Buffon
Made one good save in the second half but aside from that, he was rarely troubled by the Lazio attack. Comfortable.
6.0 / 10
Dani Alves
Consistently pushed forward to try and support Khedira and Dybala – Gave a similar performance to last week where he often cut inside to try and create, but he also left gaps at the back. Allegri may have more than a few words with him….
6.0 / 10
Giorgio Chiellini
Fought off what little Lazio threw forward with his customary zeal and dedication – Less adventurous than last week against Fiorentina, but still handled his defensive duties with ease. Solid.
6.0 / 10
Andrea Barzagli
Kept Immobile in his pocket for most of the game – Anticipated Lazio attacks, closed down spaces and played a near-perfect defensive game.
6.0 / 10
Medhi Benatia
A truly superb debut. His positioning, awareness and tackling was immense – Played some lovely passes and was the best defender on the night. Brilliant
6.5 / 10
Kwadwo Asamoah
A good range of passing, some solid tackles and some decent runs at the Lazio defence. Solid if not spectacular.
6.0 / 10
Sami Khedira
Brilliant work rate, yet again. Ran at the Lazio defence at every opportunity and took his goal with a lovely finish. Man of the match.
7.0 / 10
Mario Lemina
Looked a little shaky to start with and was caught out on occasion – Steadily improved as the game went on. No muss, no fuss.
6.0 / 10
Alex Sandro
Got forward into some good positions and delivered some decent crosses into the box, but was also caught out by Felipe Anderson on occasion.
6.0 / 10
Mario Mandzukic
Another frustrating game for the Croatian stiker who struggled to create anything of note against a decent Lazio defence.
5.5 / 10
Paulo Dybala
Dropped deep and tried to create from all around the final third – Provided a great assist for the opening goal.
6.5 / 10
Max Allegri
Got his tactics right yet again by sticking with the same midfield as last weekend. Introduced Higuain at the right moment against a tired Lazio defence and gave a debut to Marko Pjaca who could easily have scored Juve’s second.
Substitutes
Gonzalo Higuain
Held the ball up well and proved to be more of threat than Mandzukic, pulling defenders out of position for Juve’s opening goal.
6.0 / 10
Marko Pjaca
A nice cameo and hopefully a taste of things to come. A great dribble into the box and a snapshot straight at Marchetti.
6.0/10
Stephan Lichtsteiner
A late sub to wind the clock down. Had one decent run down the right.
We need to act fast a get Cuadrado and Sisokko and sell Zaza and Hernanes.
Unlike most people, I haven’t been impressed with Lemina from an offensive standpoint this or last week. His passing choices and accuracy is lacking and the offense looks disjointed as a result.
He was poor this game. He iant very creative but he does a great job of doing what hes required to do.
I agree on this, I wasnt impressed against Fiore either. Havent been able to watch this game though, but reading about it, it was much the same
The reason he is starting matches is his defensive work rate, although i agree his attacking plays are bad, making some bad decisions and have no connection with our strikers. However, until Marchisio’s return I see him starting every position as CDM.
Yeah, he has been solid defensively, but poor at other aspects of the regista role. I can’t wait for Marchisio and Pjanic either.
He showed nothing of note last year, Jack, to encourage me to believe we had come across a true gem in the mega rough. He looks okay at times, bombing forward, and provides a crafty long pass with the outside of his right boot once in a blue moon, other than which…???
I agree, gutter. I assumed Juve signed him for €9.5m and supposedly declined a much higher offer from Arsenal for a reason, but I don’t see it yet. He may perform better playing the Pogba role instead of a regista.
I don’t think we are going to win anything with Mandzukic upfront. He is really good at set pieces but to be fair, that is all you get. He is literally just a poacher, I dont think he knows how to score anywhere above the penalty line. His movement is awful, lack of speed makes it even worse. I cannot wait untill Gonzalo is fully fit and Pjanic starts, this was an average performance at best. Khedira has been on fire though, I think he will be the rock to keep the team together. On so many occasion he has proven to be the most intelligent player we have and probably one of the smartest soccer players out there. It is truly mouth watering that we got him for free. I dont want see Dyabala so deep, he isn’t messi folks so don’t expect him to out clever the whole defense on his own, this position makes him ineffective.
Dybala is still young, who knows what the future brings 🙂
How would our midfield look when Marchisio is back?
I am not saying Paolo cant become Messi I just dont think he is there yet maybe in a few years.
Mandzukic is a poacher but he provides way more than the typical poacher. Hes great at lay off plays and setting his mates up.
He is completely ineffective if we play long ball or work out of our own back yard. The only time Mario is useful is when we hogg the ball and stretch the defense in their own 25 yard line, otherwise he is completely useless…. if he wasnt bayern and atletico wouldn’t have sold him after such short spells.
I also am less and less a fan of Mario. He cuts a lonely figure out there. Cant wait for Higuain to take his spot.
He is more lethal and faster and does anything Mario does too, except for dropping deep to defend. Which isnt required
Couldnt agree more my friend! Mario isn’t suited for our play anymore, he requires the whole team to work for him. No driblling skills, no pace, no outside shot…….. as one dimensional as they get. We arent winning any major trophies with mario anytime soon. I salute the work he’s done for us but its time to upgrade.
And that upgrade has already arrived 🙂 pretty sure it is just a matter of time before he starts
Was really embarrassed as a Juventino seeing Dani Alves faking it and playing Mr. Hollywood out there today. I mean I get it. You are fresh in the squad so I will give it some time. But this isn’t Barcelona. We don’t act that way at all.
I hope Allegri takes the time to talk to him and explaines to him how we do things.
Thats what i was thinking when he was on the ground in “agony” while getting his finger taped up haha
It was pathetic. And far removed from lo stile juve. That kind of behaviour is not good for our name, our brand or our morale in the camp. For the players are unaccustomed to such ghoulish theatre, made all the more appalling by seeing him right as rain seconds after he has ‘revived’ from his near death experience…That kind of behaviour is fine in Spain. Not though in Italy, especially in our colours.
Too lazy to layout all my thoughts on the match, so ill try to keep it simple and short :p
First half was quite poor. Midfield didnt show up, which is why i believe dybala dropped so deep as often as he did.
Khedira is CLASS. Put in a heroic performance in the 2nd half. Never knew how great of an attacking player he was.
Defense was solid. Will Barzagli ever crack? Chiellini was also a rock and Benatia impressive as well. Benatia and chiellini seem similar in defending styles. Our defense contiues to blow my mind. The quality and quality in depth is unreal.
I feel Dybala isnt ready to take on as much responsibilty as he wants to. Dropping down as much as he did made it look like he wore his self out.
Wingbacks were ineffective, which i believe why we had such a poor showing. Lazio looked strong coming down the wings and opened up play really well on many occasions.
Grwat win and cant wait to see Marchisio back. Our midfield will be unreal with our two superstar midfielders
pretty short post lol
Couldve gone into more detail :p
that would be like a CV then lol
Sami is one of the finest midfielders on the planet. We rarely played badly or failed to win when he was present last season…If we can keep him fit, our midfield may well prove stronger than last season. His ability in the final third and intelligent covering is top class. We desperately need him to remain on the field and out the hospital ward, especially with no other natural leaders in the midfield.
I am eager to see Sturaro return, and would be keen on seeing him in the LCM position, for I believe he is potentially a technically superior player to Asamoah. Not sure how he would fare in front of the defence, but perhaps he would have more presence than Lemina, who is not a natural defensive option. I believe its a mistake shoe-horning him into the role. Pjanic in turn, would be better, but a waste, for he needs to play higher up the field where his sharp short passing can be more potent.
The defence was solid against a team who never attacked in numbers and kept many men behind the ball. It was a walk in the park, other than for corners, which were still hardly a worry.
Dybala has a free role, and if we are not producing key passes, he naturally comes deep. Its more an indication of the lack of creativity deep, than Dybala trying too hard. Lemina is no natural regulator of the tempo or consistently able to pick out smart passes. Relying on him against Lazio left us very disjointed. Add to that the absence of our Beckenbauer Bonucci, and it seems clear why we were at times a shambles. It is not a good sign to see so many misplaced passes when not even under pressure. Of the midfielders, only Big Sami was intelligent on the ball.
This was one of the most wretchedly inglorious matches I have seen of Juve for many years. Our efforts were of course not helped by the immensely defensive nature of our foes, with Inzaghi deploying what at times looked like a 6-3-1 formation, yet a fair portion of our passing, lack of movement, lack of creativity was not just depressing but also horrible to watch. The hot weather should also be mentioned and the absence of match sharpness at this larval stage of the season…two wins from two is a superb start (especially against two decent sides). Results are more important than form at this stage. And with Higuain, Pjanic and Pajaca to be brought closer to the first XI, and perhaps a new CM in turn, we remain very much a work in progress.
However, this was a poor game and lame excuse for a sporting spectacle.
Khedira and Dybala appeared the only players outside of defence with any obvious top drawer talent. And I am already irritated by the spastic theatrics of the Alves goblin. It is shameful to see him rolling on the floor as if he is suffering pure agony when he has been kicked int he fingers…I hope that some of the senior players take him to one side to express that this is not at all lo stile juve.
Lemina appears the weakest option I have seen deployed in the regista role. I believe Hernanes would give us more flow and creativity…Which is more criticism of the Gabonese than praise for the Brazilian. The youngster slows down the play, is as likely to play backwards or sidewards as much as forwards, does not tackle or cover particularly well and seems unsure of himself or very average. CM does not seem his best position…
I hope that Lemina proves us all wrong. Because I, just as you my friend has not yet been wowed by him in any means. He has a lot to prove and I hope that at this stage the only reason he is geting so much playing time is because of the fact that Marchisio is injured and Marotta has not yet brought in fresh blood to the midfield. I truly do not hope that Allegri is doing another Padoin thing just like he did at the start of last season when he deployed Padoin at the regista role. And we all now how that went.