On a foggy evening at the Renato Dall’Ara stadium, Serie A fans struggled to track the action on the pitch. However, the atmosphere didn’t prevent Alvaro Morata from enjoying his night, as he led Juventus towards a 2-0 away victory at the expense of Bologna. The Spaniard broke the deadlock early on thanks to a sublime assist from Federico Bernardeschi, before playing the provider’s role on Juan Cuadrado’s goal. So let’s check out the player ratings from the round 18 fixture between Bologna and Juventus.
Bologna XI
Lukasz Skorupski – 6
The former Roma goalkeeper was faultless on both Juventus goals, and managed to pull off some saves that prevented a larger score.
Adama Soumaoro – 6.5
The former Lille and Genoa defender had the better of Kean throughout the match, as he managed to nullify the striker’s threat on the left flank.
Gary Medel – 6
The Chilean veteran lost track of Morata on the first goal. However, he made some decent interventions inside the box.
Arthur Theate – 6.5
The young Belgian couldn’t block Bernardeschi’s assist that led to the Bianconeri’s first goal, but his performance was superb otherwise. Made several clearances in the air thanks to his incredible athleticism and almost created a goal for Bologna with a brilliant run on the left. A special talent for sure.
Lorenzo De Silvestri – 6
The former Lazio and Fiorentina wingback had lasted for one half before getting substituted by Sinisa Mihajlovic. Looked solid at the back, but couldn’t add much on the other end of the pitch.
Nicolas Dominguez – 6
The tough Argentine fought hard and managed to recuperate the ball for the Rossoblu on several occasions. Surged forward early in the second half, and his shot on goal was arguably his side’s most dangerous goal-scoring opportunity.
Mattias Svanberg – 6
The Swedish midfielder lost the ball in the middle of the park which allowed Juventus to score the first goal from the break. Nevertheless, he picked himself up afterwards and proved to be the hosts’ most creative player. Almost scored from a spectacular bicycle kick.
Aaron Hickey – 5.5
The young Scotsman wasn’t bad this evening, but his performances are usually a bit more dynamic. Found some trouble when facing Bernardeschi.
Roberto Soriano – 6
It was a story of two halves for the captain who was nowhere to be seen during the first half, but burst to life after halftime. The veteran ran the show for Bologna inside the Juventus areas, but the home side failed to pounce on their dominance earlier in the second half.
Musa Barrow – 5.5
The Gambian attacker threatened with his runs, but always find Bonucci standing in his way.
Marko Arnautovic – 5.5
The Austrian is undoubtedly an incredibly-dangerous striker, but beside one header that was too weak to trouble Szczesny, he couldn’t truly exercise his dominance inside the Juventus penalty box.
Bologna Substitutes
Andreas Skav Olsen – 6
The wingback added some energy to the right flank which helped Bologna create more chances in the second period.
Nicola Sansone – N/A
Emanuel Vignato – N/A
Federico Santander – N/A
Nicolas Viola – N/A
0 – Massimiliano Allegri has never lost in 19 managerial matches against Bologna in Serie A (W15 D4): he is the manager with the most matches without any defeat against a single side in the competition in the three points for a win era. Bulletproof. #BolognaJuve pic.twitter.com/iOXLRWSlst
— OptaPaolo ? (@OptaPaolo) December 18, 2021
Juventus XI
Wojciech Szczesny – 6.5
While one Polish goalkeeper conceded two goals, the other left the field with a clean sheet. The Juventus goalkeeper didn’t have to pull off anything major, but did well to deny the likes of Svanberg, Arnautovic and Dominguez with some routine saves.
Juan Cuadrado – 6.5
The Colombian was having some difficulties against Svanberg and company during the match, but he ended up striking the blow that ended the Rossoblu’s uprising and secured the result for Juventus. His shot deflected off the back of Hickey, but he should get the credit for his brilliant dribbling prior to it.
Leonardo Bonucci – 7
The captain of the day is one of the main reasons why the Old Lady picked up a clean sheet against Bologna. Dealt admirably with Barrow’s runs and brought the ball out his area with his exquisite passing.
Matthijs de Ligt – 7.5
A remarkable display from the Dutchman who marshalled the backline exceptionally, making one vital interception after another and keeping Arnautovic in check.
Luca Pellegrini – 6
The young Italian has been enjoying a fine run, but this evening, his impact on the team declined a bit. He was mostly solid at the back, but didn’t do much on the offensive phase.
Arthur Melo – 6.5
For a player who’s reportedly unwanted at Juventus, the Brazilian didn’t look bad at all against Bologna. Controlled the middle of the park and picked up his teammate with some sharp passing. With this type of displays, he might force himself into Max Allegri’s starting lineup.
Adrien Rabiot – 6
Another Juventus midfielder who didn’t embarrass himself tonight. The Frenchman fought hard to win his duels, and tired to support his teammates forward. But his passing remains a bit clumsy.
Weston McKennie – 6.5
The American made his return from injury and appeared to be physically sharp. His touch let him down on some occasions, but still made decent runs towards the opposition’s penalty box.
Federico Bernardeschi – 6.5
Slowly but surely, the Italian is winning back the esteem he lost in recent years. Picked up Morata with a perfectly-timed assist, and almost scored one himself in the second half. Dropped back deep to help at the back, but could have cost his side by giving away the ball with his lackluster passes inside his own area.
Moise Kean – 5.5
Not a terrible display from the young Italian, but his impact as an outside striker was hardly felt. He’s obviously born to be a target man, and nothing else.
Alvaro Morata – 7.5
The away goal expert strikes again! The Spaniard managed to beat the offside trap for once before clinically finishing his chance. He later put his seal on the match by setting up the assist for Cuadrado who scored the second goal for Juventus.
Juventus Substitutes
Alex Sandro – 6
A decent outing from the Brazilian who kept it clean and tidy at the back while trying to support the attack as well.
Manuel Locatelli – 6
The former Sassuolo man helped Juventus in maintaining possession and winning the midfield battle in the latter stages.
Rodrigo Bentancur – N/A
Dejan Kulusevski – N/A
Kaio Jorge – N/A