At the Allianz stadium in Turin, Andrea Pirlo conceded the first defeat of his young managerial career, as Ronald Koeman’s Barcelona deservedly earned a 2-0 away victory against an unlucky Juventus side that had three goals disallowed for offside: Here are our player ratings for the exciting Juventus – Barcelona encounter.
Juventus XI
Wojciech Szczęsny – 6
The Polish goalkeeper was deceived by Ousmane Dembélé’s deflected shot, and couldn’t deny Leo Messi from the spot-kick.
Juan Cuadrado – 6.5
The Colombian was one of his side’s best performers, as he was again behind most of the Bianconeri‘s best chances, including Morata’s disallowed goals.
Merih Demiral – 5.5
The young Turkish international had a solid match – denying Messi on multiple occasions inside the penalty box – but unfortunately ended in a dismissal with a needless second yellow card.
Leonardo Bonucci – 5.5
The Juventus skipper once again failed to impose his authority on the match, as the Barcelona attackers managed to pass him by on more than an occasion.
Danilo – 7
The scoreboard could have been much harsher on the Italians if it wasn’t for the Brazilian’s contribution in defense and his timely ball interceptions.
Dejan Kulusevski – 5.5
Arguably his worst performance in the famous black and white jersey so far, as the young Swedish couldn’t deliver the killer ball for Morata nor finish the chances himself.
Rodrigo Bentancur – 6.5
Although Barcelona was the dominant side in the middle of the park for most of the match, the young Juventus midfielder did his best to retrieve the ball and help the defenders in their difficult missions.
Adrien Rabiot – 6
The former PSG midfielder scuffed a golden opportunity to score the equalizer, but just like his fellow midfielder Bentancur, had a decent match in general.
Federico Chiesa – 5
The young Italian is still unable to showcase his best skills for his new club, as he failed to offer a noticeable contribution for the entire match.
Paulo Dybala – 5
The Argentine jewel is still far from his best physical and technical form, and being thrown out on the right wing never helps, as he was Isolated for most of the match.
Alvaro Morata – 7.5
A brilliant performance by the returning striker despite being denied by VAR three times for some minimal offside positions, after expertly finishing his chances. Fought hard against the Barcelona defense and set-up chances for his Juventus teammates.
Juventus Substitutes
Weston Mckennie – 6
The American midfielder presented a new found energy for his side, but couldn’t provide the needed technical skills to bring the Bianconeri back to the match.
Federico Bernardeschi – 4
The Italian winger tried to contribute in the defensive phase as Juventus were down to 10-men, but ended up being the villain of the night by giving away a late penalty for Barcelona.
Arthur Melo – N/A
2 – #Barcelona have become the only side to have kept more than one clean sheet against Juventus (two) at the Stadium (since 2011/12) in all competitions. Stronghold.#UCL #JuveBarca pic.twitter.com/3BTcjeXl7d
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) October 28, 2020
Barcelona XI
Neto – 6
The Brazilian shot-stopper didn’t have anything to save against his old club, and luckily for him, all three goals that went past him were eventually disallowed.
Sergi Roberto – 6.5
It wasn’t his most adventurous performance, but the Blaugrana youth product was successful in nullifying the Italians’ left flank.
Ronald Araújo – 6
A mostly solid performance by the young Uruguayan, but his night was cut short by a late first half injury.
Clément Lenglet – 6.5
Whilst his attempts at distributing the ball from the back remain questionable, he kept things tidy in defense.
Jordi Alba – 7
The Barcelona full-back was a constant menace for Juventus as he destabilized the Italian defenses every time he went forward in support of his team’s attacking plays.
Miralem Pjanic – 7
In his return to the Allianz Stadium, the Bosnian Maestro reminded the Italians of why he was so highly rated during his Serie A years. He kept the ball swiftly rolling in Barca’s midfield.
Frankie De Jong – 6.5
A quiet night for the Dutch regista as he mostly remained deep in his own area and eventually turned into an emergency defender in the second half. Nonetheless, a very important presence in Koeman’s tactical scheme.
Pedri – 7.5
The young Spaniard could be the next big thing at the Catalan club. He enjoyed a thrilling battle against Cuadrado as he won several duels against the veteran Colombian.
Ousmane Dembélé – 7
The former BVB forward had luck on his side when his shot was deflected by Chiesa and straight into the net. However the Frenchman is slowly regaining his form, even though he still doesn’t have 90 minutes in his legs just yet.
Antoine Griezmann – 6.5
A mixed but generally positive performance by the former Atletico Madrid star. He created a golden opportunity for Messi with his cheeky back flick, however, he wasted at least three opportunities to score, including an early strike that hit the post.
Lionel Messi – 8
Whilst the six time Ballon d’Or winner is still far from his extraordinary best performances, he was behind almost all of Barcelona’s best chances of the night, as the Juventus defenders had no other option but to constantly foul him. He ended the night with an assist and a goal of his own.
7⃣0⃣ group stage goals for Leo Messi. No player in history has scored more…#UCL pic.twitter.com/oL5wz2UiKz
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 28, 2020
Barcelona Substitutes
Sergio Busquets – 6
The veteran midfielder was introduced between the two halves, and although his speed is long gone, his presence boosted the morale of the Blaugrana squad.
Ansu Fati – 6
The youngster earned a penalty kick for Barcelona which led to the second goal. He should have killed Juventus with the third goal when he found himself in front of Szczęsny, but inexplicably decided to pass for Braithwaite.