In the refreshing presence of around 5000 fans in attendance, the Mapei stadium in Sassuolo hosted the Coppa Italia final between Atalanta and Juventus. Dejan Kulusevski opened the scoring for the Bianconeri with a brilliant curler, but Ruslan Malinovskyi equalized with a vicious strike before half-time. Nonetheless, Andrea Pirlo’s men returned more determined after the break, and secured the winner thanks to Federico Chiesa, as it ended 2-1. So here are our Player Ratings for the final between Juventus and Atalanta.
Atalanta XI
Pierluigi Gollini – 5.5
The Italian goalkeeper made a couple of saves, but couldn’t do much to prevent Kulusevski’s spectacular effort. Perhaps went down a little too early on Chiesa’a goal.
Rafael Toloi – 5.5
The Italo-Brazilian tried to support his side going forward, but had some moments of difficulty facing Ronaldo. Left the pitch in the second half, but still managed to earn a red card afterwards.
Cristian Romero – 5.5
The Juventus-owned defender has been one of the best Atalanta players throughout the season, but left some space inside the box during the second half as the opponents capitalized on it.
José Luis Palomino – 6
A decent showing from the Argentine who was the surprise inclusion in Gian Piero Gasperini’s formation.
Hans Hateboer – 6
The Dutch wingback provided the assist for his side’s lone goal when picking up Malinovskyi with a smart pass, but failed to track Chiesa’s run as he went to score the winner.
Remo Freuler – 6
The Swiss midfielder was always alert, and expertly won back the ball that resulted in his team’s equalizer. Lost control of the middle of the park during the second half, as well as his temper.
Marten de Roon – 6
Similarly to his midfield partner, the former Middlesbrough man started well and helped his side in dominating the pitch, but found difficulties after the interval.
Robin Gosens – 5.5
Another story of two halves. The German found success against Cuadrado in the first half, and fed Zapata with some good crosses, before badly fading in the second period.
Matteo Pessina – 5
The Italy international has been one of the revelations of the season in Bergamo, but failed to prove his worth in the Coppa Italia final, and was the first to subbed out by Gasperini in the second half.
Ruslan Malinovskyi – 6.5
The Ukrainian confirmed his red-hot form by taking his opportunity well and equalizing the score for Atalanta with a sublime strike from the edge of the Juventus box. His team failed to create anything worth mentioning after his exit.
Duvan Zapata – 6
The Colombian was a menace for the Old Lady at the beginning of the match, almost scoring in the opening minutes, but his danger slowly faded as the match wore on, and he began to lose his battles against Chiellini and de Ligt.
Atalanta Substitutes
Luis Muriel – 5
The former Sevilla and Sampdoria man failed to add a different layer to the Orobici’s attack.
Mario Pasalic – 5
Barely noticeable on the pitch.
Josip Ilicic – N/A
Berat Djimsiti – N/A
Aleksei Miranchuk – N/A
6 – Gianluigi Buffon has now won six Coppa Italia trophies (one with Parma and five with the Bianconeri), no other player have won more. Legend.#TIMVISIONCUP #AtalantaJuve pic.twitter.com/IdsIifRclH
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 19, 2021
Juventus XI
Gianluigi Buffon – 7
In what should be his final appearance for Juventus, the iconic goalkeeper pulled off at least two big saves in the first half to deny Zapata, before enjoying a much calmer second period. Didn’t have a good view for Malinovskyi’s goal.
Juan Cuadrado – 6.5
Although it wasn’t exactly on par with his heroics from last weekend, but La Vespa’s performance grew after the break, and could have gotten himself another assist with a brilliant cross that found McKennie’s head.
Matthijs de Ligt – 7
Despite receiving a yellow card, the Dutchman put on a solid shift in defense, highlighted by a brilliant tackle to deny Zapata.
Giorgio Chiellini – 6.5
The captain had shaky moments when facing Zapata early on, but went on to produce another commanding display, and leading the backline with grit and confidence.
Danilo – 6
The Brazilian had a tough first half, marked by his poor pass that led to La Dea’s equalizer. Nonetheless, he performed well after the interval, and helped the center backs in dealing with the threats of Zapata and Ilicic.
Weston McKennie – 7
After a long period of time, Juventus fans finally found back the player that they fell in love with earlier in the campaign, as the American was a thorn in the backs of the Atalanta players. Picked up Kulusevski for the opener and ran all over the pitch, repeatedly winning the ball back for his team.
Rodrigo Bentancur – 6
The Uruguayan had to produce a good showing to make up for his dismissal against Inter last weekend, and his performance in the final was a decent one. Industrial if not spectacular.
Adrien Rabiot – 6.5
The France international continued his good run of form with an impressive performance. Helped his side in maintaining possession, and made himself involved within the attacking plays.
Federico Chiesa – 7.5
The former Fiorentina winger crowned his positive first season with Juventus with a spectacular performance against Atalanta. Should have scored a goal when released by Ronaldo, but ended up hitting the post. Nonetheless, he made up for it with another great give-and-go with Kulusevski, and made sure not the miss the goal again. Voted as the official man of the match by the organizers.
Dejan Kulusevski – 8
With all due respect to the organizers, the Swedish youngster is the man of the match in our book. Opened the scoring with a curler to the far post that just oozed class, and his brilliant assist allowed Chiesa to grab the winner.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 6
The Portuguese superstar kept La Dea’s defenders busy all night, allowing his teammates to do the damage. Released Chiesa with a gorgeous backheel, and was noticeably unselfish throughout the night.
Juventus Substitutes
Paulo Dybala – 5.5
The Argentine made a late appearance when the Bianconeri were already ahead, but seemed to be excited to take part.
Leonardo Bonucci – 6
Pirlo opted to close all gaps in defense by introducing the veteran center back, and the plan worked as he contributed with some clearances late in the match.
