Juventus had a tough time of it but still emerged with a solid 2-1 victory over Sampdoria with goals from Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Juventus Player Ratings
Gigi Buffon: Equalled the Serie A appearance record by starting today, could do little on Samp’s opening goal, but he looked solid for the entirety of the game with not too much to do. 6.0/10
Danilo: A solid opening half, some nice runs down the flank and some good ideas when linking up with Rabiot, but still made a few questionable decisions that may have cost Juve. 6.0/10
Leonardo Bonucci: Looked a little out of sorts at times as Juve had a sluggish start but his distribution from the back was exceptional, and he looked much better as the game progressed. Made a few vital interceptions and clearances and helped Juve close out the game in good style. 6.5/10
Merih Demiral: A few worrying moments where he conceded a potentially dangerous free kick, but he came into the game thereafter and didn’t look afraid to do the dirty work. Really showed another side of his game as he exhibited all the dark arts needed for a Serie A defender to succeed at Juventus. 6.5/10
Alex Sandro: An excellent cross for Dybala’s opening goal, followed by a lapse in judgement for Samp’s equaliser, promptly followed by another wonderfully whipped in ball for Ronaldo to set Juve ahead. 6.5/10
Midfield
Blaise Matuidi: All action, lots of industry but the same old deficiencies in attack when in the opponents half and he should have added to Juve’s tally in the second half. Frustrating. 6.0/10
Adrien Rabiot: Looked far more confident and assured in himself which translated to how he played as he strode around the pitch, pointing to where he wanted the ball. Impressive from the Frenchman who really helped ease pressure and move Juve into the Sampdoria half. 6.5/10
Miralem Pjanic: Tidy passes during Juve’s best spells in possession where he was able to move from defence into attack. Kept Juve ticking and while he didn’t have as much of the ball as usual, he still played well. 6.5/10
Attack
Paulo Dybala: Great movement and overall awareness, rightly rewarded by a fine opening goal with a wonderful finish. Continued to drift across the attack and made it tough for Samp to pin him down. 7.5/10
Cristiano Ronaldo: Played some wonderful passes down the flank to his teammates that could have resulted in a goal or two – Got into the right positions and took his goal incredibly well, literally hanging in the air to head home. Had a chance to score another as well as having one chalked off for a very marginal offside. 8.0/10
Gonzalo Higuain: Tireless worker, unselfish as always, played some fine passes into the box but didn’t have too many clear cut chances to score a goal of his own. 6.0/10
Manager
Maurizio Sarri: Hard to fault him with the starting XI as the decisions paid off but his substitutions seemed a little too defensive and a little too early as Samp came into the game more and put Juve under pressure. 8/10
Substitutes
Aaron Ramsey: Came on from the bench and played some great passed and through balls as well as having a half chance of his own. Impressive 6.5/10
Mattia De Sciglio: N/A
Douglas Costa: N/A
