Juventus endured some early pressure but ran out 3-0 winners against a tough Sassuolo side.
Juventus Player Ratings
Woj Szczesny: It’s all too easy to understate the important contribution of a keeper in a game like this where Juve were under early pressure. His heroics kept Juve in the game early on, allowed the team to settle and find their rhythm. The only time he put a foot wrong, it could have cost us – A needless attempted clearance and he loses 0.5 for it. 7.0/10
Daniele Rugani: Some early mistakes and poor positioning could have cost Juve dearly….but it didn’t, and he came on for that and improved in the second half. That said, he still looks lacking in confidence and at times, a passenger in the defensive line, doing the bare minimum If he is to make it as a Juve defender, he needs to be more physical and more imposing during games. 6.0/10
Martin Caceres: Definitely the better of the two centre-backs, possible due to experience or more likely to his confidence on the ball. Excellent movement, good interceptions and good passing out from the back. 7.0/10
Mattia De Sciglio: A much better game where he went back to what he does best: quietly defend the right flank with little fuss while putting in some decent crosses for the attack. 7.0/10
Alex Sandro: Strong in the tackle and did a good job of defending the left side, ensuring he was in the right places at the right time. Not quite as adventurous in getting forward but that was understandable against a side like Sassuolo. 7.0/10
Midfield
Sami Khedira: Should have had another hattrick to go with the other ‘should’ have hattrick from the Parma game. He missed some really clear chances but that said, he deserves credit for his goal and for the overall performance. He gets a lot of criticism for the poor games so praise is in order for his contribution. 6.5/10
Blaise Matuidi: Hard working, tough tackling, but he still makes some strange runs and struggle to maintain his balance at times and could do so much better in the final third if he was a little calmer. 6.0/10
Miralem Pjanic: Much better than his performances of late – good distribution and awareness overall and he did well on the set-pieces. 6.5/10
Attack
Federico Bernardeschi: A sort of ‘Mandzukic-esque’ display with lots of hard work on the channels and in the centre, helping the team overall, but not making an impact in the attacking stats. . 6.5/10
Mario Mandzukic: It would be all too easy to mark him lower for not scoring or assisting, but his workrate for the team is exceptional. Pulled defenders with him to create space for the other forwards, tracked back into midfield to help break up attacks and was even running back into the box to help the defenders. 7.0/10
Cristiano Ronaldo: Another game where he could have had more goals and assists, such was his effort. Took his goal really well and after a few more half-chances, crafted a great chance for Emre Can after some great Juve passing. Excellent. 8.0/10
Substitutes
Emre Can: A brief cameo but it was enough for him to find the net with his first touch at an acute angle. Much needed confidence boost. N/A
Rodrigo Bentancur: Seems to be regaining some confidence with these substitute performances, good passing range again and much better on his tackling. N/A
Paulo Dybala: Looked calm and determined when he came on and made a valuable contribution, even in the brief time he was on the pitch. N/A
