Player ratings - Juventus 1 - 0 AS Roma: Two horse Scudetto race?
- Nima Tavallaey Roodsari (@NimaTavRood)
After having dominated proceedings in the first half, Juventus continued to play really well in the second half with the difference that Roma turned up in the second half as opposed o being almost missing in the first 45 minutes. The Giallorossi created a lot of high quality chances, especially towards the end of the match, but former Roma goalkeeper Szczesny who guarded the Boanconeri goal in place of the injured Giggi Buffon made some spectacular saves to keep his former paymaster at bay.
Juventus:
Szczesny - 7: Pulled off some spectacular saves in the second half which ended up being what won the match for the Bianconeri. Faultless.
Barzagli - 6: Did what he needed to do without fuss. His job was to help keep Roma's left-wing quiet, which he did.
Benatia - 7,5: Quite possibly the best performance he has given in a Juventus shirt. Won everything in the air tonight offensively as well as defensively.
Chiellini - 7: The date of birth on his passport may say he will turn 34 in August but he plays just as well as he has ever done. Partnership with Benatia turning into the best central defender pairing in the world.
Alex Sandro - 6,5: Played a lot more like the player Juventus enjoyed last season when he marauded down the left flank causing all sorts of trouble for Roma.
Matuidi - 6,5: Very good first half but tired in the second. Understandably so as he worked his socks off tonight when chasing the life out of Roma's midfield.
Khedira - 7: His first 45 minutes was if not the best the one of his top 3 best halves since joining Juventus. Dropped back a little, just like rest of the team but embodied term box to box midfielder as he was everywhere today.
Pjanic - 8: The man of the match at Allianz Stadium. Personified the difference between the two teams today. World class player giving a world class performance.
Cuadrado - 7: The Colombian winger does what he always does: bombards the opposing penalty area with crosses as well as cutting in from far corner like a kamikaze pilot to finish attacking plays.
Higuain - 6,5: Always on the move and always runs at the right time chasing up the right ball. A bit careless finishing at times otherwise he would have at least bagged one. Seems to have found an interesting understanding with Alex Sandro where he runs round the left hand side from an Alex Sandro pass from deep, which Roma had a lot of trouble dealing with today.
Madzukic - 7: Does this man no what fatigue is? Runs and runs and runs and then runs some more. Lethal in the air, intelligent and technical and a never say die attitude that is remarkable.
Substitutes: Bernardeschi (6) & Marchisio (N/A).
AS Roma:
Alisson - 6,5: Very solid in goal making a lot of high quality saves like for example when saving Chiellini's header which eventually ended up in goal due to his defenders being unable to get rid of the ball.
Florenzi - 6,5: Runs so intelligently and great timed which almost helped Roma win a point when hitting the bar.
Manolas - 6: Is a quality player who sometimes makes silly mistakes due to lapse of concentration. Overall solid performance
Fazio - 6: The weakest link in Roma's defence and struggled quite a bit against above all Mandzukic. Made a brilliant last minute clearance on Higuain that came from the top drawer.
Kolarov - 7: The best left-sided full-back in the Serie A continues to dominate his flank week after week. His crosses and free-kicks reek havoc due to being hit so hard and withsuch spin it is almost impossible to calculate where they will end up.
Nainggolan - 6: Not at all the type of performance we are used to seeing from a player who in his night is up there amongst the best in the world. Frustrated and frustrating to watch.
De Rossi 5,5: A liability defensively and numerically for his team as every time he lunges into a tackle it looks as he can be sent off. Poor passing and simple mistakes he should not make.
Strootman - 6: Usually the player who gobbles up opponents midfielders but today he was a snack for Khedira. Invisible in the first half but unable to make any impact throughout the match as he was bullied by Juve today.
El Shaarawy - 5,5: Had one chance but after that had the best seats in the house to watch the match. Not involved in anything constructive Roma created who became dangerous when he was brought off.
Dzeko - 7: Did not score but showed class on countless occasions via winning the all high up and holding on to him allowing his team to move upwards the pitch not to mention his delicious passes out to the wings when coming down deep to help with the buil-up.
Perotti - 6: Bombarded Juve's defence with crosses and tried to cut in time and time again to get a shot away but the Bianconeri knew about his tricks and so they had doubled up on him as well as read his tricks.
Substitutes: Schick (6,5), Pellegrini (6), Ünder (N/A).