Juventus goalkeeper Mattia Perin (22) in action during the Serie A football match n.13 JUVENTUS – SPAL on 24/11/2018 at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy. ( Photo by Matteo Bottanelli/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
In spite of a formation change and some rotations, Juventus was able to get another win coming out of the international break.
This game got off to an odd start for Juve with SPAL putting the pressure on early, but that wouldn’t last for very long. After the initial push from SPAL, Juve quickly applied pressure of their own and seemed to have turned into an early goal. However, the 10th-minute goal was disallowed for some reason I am unsure of.
Still, Juventus would open the scoring in the first half. In the 28th minute, Miralem Pjanic sent in a beautiful free kick that managed to find Cristiano Ronaldo’s foot, which guided it into the net. The 1-0 scoreline would hold until halftime.
In the 49th minute, it looked like Juve would score from another free kick. This time it was Douglas Costa driving the ball into the box off of a free kick routine, but his shot was blasted off the post and unfortunately, it came off the post too quickly for Ronaldo to control and instead rolled harmlessly out of bounds.
Juve would still manage to score a second in the 60th minute. Ronaldo played Costa into the box where Costa unleashed a shot that necessitated a save. The save rebounded right into the center of the box where Mandzukic pounced and gave Juventus a comfortable 2 goal lead. That is where the match would finish as Juve claimed their 12th Serie A victory in 12 matches.
GK: Mattia Perin 6.5/10
Juve’s keeper of the future has now kept a clean sheet in each of his starts for the Bianconeri. Much like in the first start he wasn’t asked to do much against SPAL, but he did save the only shot on target he faced and did a good job distributing the ball.
This performance didn’t really do much for Perin’s hopes to start, but it should help him stay ready in case Juve does end up needing him. At some point, we should see the keepers split time a bit more evenly as Juve tries to keep Szczesny fresh for the Champions League later in the season. For now, let’s just appreciate when we get to see our future in action.
5 tackles and an interception</a> against SPAL. He didn’t offer much to the attack in this one, but that was probably due partially to the 4-4-2 Juventus played in. He also didn’t really need to make an attacking contribution in this match. Overall, Sandro was the most reliable defender Juve started in this match and he did what he needed to do in order to preserve the clean sheet.</p>
<h3>CB: Daniele Rugani 7/10</h3>
<p>This was a refreshing sight. I highlighted a lack of playing time as the main reason why<a href=https://playingfor90.com/2018/11/25/juventus-player-ratings-vs-spal-cristiano-ronaldo/"https://playingfor90.com/2018/11/24/4-players-leave-juventus-winter-transfer-window/3/"> Daniele Rugani could end up leaving Juve in January</a> and while this one start won’t be enough to prevent that by itself, it is hopefully a sign of things to come. Rugani should be given these opportunities whenever possible because right now he is the best hope Juve has for the future of its defense.</p>
<p>He didn’t do anything to stand out in this match, but that is to be expected when his last appearance was in October. He still didn’t make any mistakes in the match and is likely only going to get better if he plays more frequently. Juve’s schedule gets tougher over the next month, but he should be trusted with a couple of starts in the next few weeks.</p>
<h3>CB: Leonardo Bonucci 7/10</h3>
<p>For what seems like the first time in a while I actually don’t have anything negative to say about Leonardo Bonucci’s performance in this match. His performance was very similar to Rugani’s. He didn’t do anything spectacular, but he also didn’t do anything that will have me begging to see Medhi Benatia start against Valencia.</p>
<p>I do find it interesting that he started this match as it could mean Benatia will start over him for another important match, but Bonucci at least took a little bit of the heat off of himself in this one.</p>
<h3>RB: Mattia De Sciglio 7/10</h3>
<p>Mattia De Sciglio has made life much easier for Massimiliano Allegri since he returned from injury. He has played well enough to allow Allegri to rest Joao Cancelo every once in a while without having to worry about Juan Cuadrado playing right back. He obviously isn’t quite the player that Cancelo is, but he has been easy enough to trust when Cancelo is unavailable.</p>
<p>In this match, he made 2 tackles and 2 interceptions while also sending in an accurate cross. Much like the rest of the defense he was solid but unspectacular. It’s always nice when you have a backup that can consistently deliver that.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2018/11/25/juventus-player-ratings-vs-spal-cristiano-ronaldo/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Midfielders - Costa has his best game of the season </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-464802 size-large" src=https://playingfor90.com/2018/11/25/juventus-player-ratings-vs-spal-cristiano-ronaldo/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1064864568-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">24th November 2018, Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy; Serie A football, Juventus versus SPAL; Mohamed Fares of Spal challenges Douglas Costa of Juventus unfairly (photo by Pierpaolo Piciucco/Action Plus via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>LM: Douglas Costa 8/10</h3>
<p>This was Douglas Costa’s best match of the year by a pretty wide margin. SPAL never looked like they had an answer for his pace and he caused problems down the left side throughout the game. He wasn’t able to get himself on the scoresheet, but that was just about all that he didn’t do.</p>
<p>He put 4 shots on target in the match, including one that forced a save that led to Mandzukic’s goal. He was also inches away from scoring a goal of his own when he blasted a shot off the far post after a free kick. Costa looks to be recovering from his suspension and injury, which is bad news for everybody else looking to start on the right wing.</p>
<h3>CM: Miralem Pjanic 7.5/10</h3>
<p>I can’t believe Massimiliano Allegri actually started Pjanic, but Juve ended up getting exactly what they had been waiting for from Pjanic all season. He returned early from international duty due to an injury that resulted from fatigue, which is pretty understandable considering he hasn’t been given a match off by Juve since September. However, he showed no signs of fatigue when he dropped in a beautiful cross from a free kick to set up Ronaldo’s goal. It was only his second assist of the season and it is hopefully a sign of things to come. A day off should come first, but more of the beautiful free kicks we’ve grown accustomed to from Pjanic will hopefully follow that rest.</p>
<h3>CM: Rodrigo Bentancur 7/10</h3>
<p>Against SPAL, Rodrigo Bentancur once again showed that Juve can trust him when they need him. He picked up some of the defensive slack in Blaise Matuidi’s absence and was a big part of the reason why most of SPAL’s possession came in their own half. He wasn’t a big contributor to the attack, but he maintained a 92.5% pass accuracy to help Juventus keep possession while they tried to break down a compact SPAL defense. This youngster continues to play well for Juve and figures to be a big part of this team as the midfield recovers from its injuries.</p>
<h3>RM: Juan Cuadrado 7/10</h3>
<p>Juan Cuadrado wasn’t quite as productive as his counterpart on the left side of the field, but he did manage to make some contributions when Juve did attack down the right side. He made 3 key passes and completed a cross in a match where he connected well with the rest of the midfield. He looked comfortable playing as a wide midfielder, but this was unfortunately not the type of performance that will help him keep his starting job. He needs to make a bigger contribution in future matches if he hopes to be chosen over Costa and Federico Bernardeschi.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2018/11/25/juventus-player-ratings-vs-spal-cristiano-ronaldo/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Strikers - Never any doubt with Ronaldo </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-464800 size-large" src=https://playingfor90.com/2018/11/25/juventus-player-ratings-vs-spal-cristiano-ronaldo/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1064914974-850x560.jpeg" alt="" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">ALLIANZ STADIUM, TURIN, ITALY – 2018/11/24: Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus FC celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A football match between Juventus FC and SPAL. Juventus FC won 2-0 over SPAL. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>ST: Cristiano Ronaldo 8.5/10</h3>
<p>I think we all get how this works by now. Juventus was clearly the better team throughout the match, but struggled for long stretches to turn their advantage into a goal. Once again, that was changed by a Cristiano Ronaldo goal. This time it was a cross from Miralem Pjanic free kick that Ronaldo guided into the net. That marks the 10th consecutive Serie A match where Ronaldo has either scored or assisted a goal for Juventus and it tied him atop the list of Serie A scoring leaders with his 9th goal. Juve has had their attacking struggles this season and had to deal with quite a few injury issues coming into this match, but Ronaldo’s brilliance has covered up many of their problems this year. Now Juve will need them to carry that brilliance over to Tuesday’s Champions League match.</p>
<h3>ST: Mario Mandzukic 8/10</h3>
<p>Mario Mandzukic was given the captain’s armband for this match and he absolutely looked the part on Saturday. As usual, he had a ridiculous work rate. He even managed to make 3 tackles in the match. He also scored his 6th goal of the season because as usual, his constant movement in the box allowed him to get to a rebound before the defense. His leadership, size, and finishing ability have made him an irreplaceable part of the Juve starting lineup this season. He’s on pace for his best season yet with Juventus and should be included in the starting lineup for every match as long as he’s healthy.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2018/11/25/juventus-player-ratings-vs-spal-cristiano-ronaldo/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Substitutes and Manager </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">ALLIANZ STADIUM, TORINO, ITALY – 2018/11/24: Massimiliano Allegri, head coach of Juventus FC, gestures during match Juventus Fc and Spal.<br>Juventus FC wins 2-0 over Spal. (Photo by Marco Canoniero/LightRocket via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Blaise Matuidi 6/10</h3>
<p>This was really a waste of an appearance for Matuidi. Juve needs to be resting their midfielders as much as possible, but instead, they brought a 3rd midfielder on for 22 minutes. His presence didn’t really accomplish much for Juve. He didn’t contribute defensively and Juve had stopped chasing goals by the time Matuidi got onto the field. He really should’ve been left on the bench for this one, but more will be asked of him on Tuesday.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<h3>Giorgio Chiellini: Incomplete</h3>
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<p>The Juve captain was only on the field for 8 minutes and wasn’t asked to do anything of note in the match. Juve was firmly in control of the match by the time Chiellini got on the field and it didn’t take much for them to hold their lead. He’ll start on Tuesday and will be the key to shutting down Valencia’s attack.</p>
<h3>Manager: Massimiliano Allegri 9.5/10</h3>
<p>This was almost a perfect match for Allegri. He had quite a few injuries thrown at him for this match and only had 2 healthy central midfielders (Pjanic and Matuidi should probably only count as .5 each right now). He used the players he had available to start as well as he could have. With the 4-4-2 necessitating an attack that works its way down the outside he had to start Mandzukic to give the wide midfielders a target. He smartly made that decision instead of making Paulo Dybala the target in the middle.</p>
<p>He started both Rugani and Perin, giving the future of the club some playing time. He even had the team trying to put the game away after they got ahead instead of sitting back and defending without searching for another goal. Everything was perfect until the 72nd minute. The only issue I had with Allegri is that Blaise Matuidi never should have come on in this match.</p>
<p>Juve’s midfield is injured and exhausted and Allegri should’ve given the one healthy midfielder who didn’t start a chance to get the full match off before Tuesday. He brought Matuidi on for Costa, who didn’t need the rest as badly and might not even start against Valencia. With all of the things working against Allegri this is really a small issue in what was otherwise a great game.</p>
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<p>Now let’s just hope he puts out another smart lineup against Valencia.</p><!—pageview_candidate—></p>">
