Fresh from their moral boosting victory over Milan on Wednesday, Juventus hosted Sassuolo at the Allianz stadium. Pedro Obiang left the visitors with a man down after conceding a red card, and Danilo opened the scoring for the champions early in the second half. However, the Neroverdi were surprisingly able to equalize through Gergoire Defrel, but late goals from Aaron Ramsey and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed a vital 3-1 victory for the Bianconeri. So here are our player ratings for the encounter between Juventus and Sassuolo.
Juventus XI
Wojciech Szczęsny – 6
The Poland international was not at fault for conceding the equalizer, but on another day he might have been able to come up with a brilliant save.
Danilo – 8
The Brazilian is arguably enjoying the best season of his career, and this performance is probably the best of the campaign so far. Broke the deadlock with an absolute screamer, assisted Ronaldo with a sublime long cross, and was generally solid throughout the match.
Leonardo Bonucci – 5
A mediocre performance from the captain. Could have been sent off for a silly foul on Caputo, and was clearly beaten by Defrel for the equalizer.
Merih Demiral – 5.5
The former Sassuolo man was slightly better than Bonucci, as he we was able to make some interceptions, but failed to land his defensive partner a hand when facing Defrel.
Gianluca Fabrotta – 6.5
A mixed bag for the young left-back. Wasted a chance early on and found it hard to brake through Müldür and Toljan. But just when Andrea Pirlo was seemingly about to take him off, he created Juve’s second goal with a smart pass to Ramsey.
Weston Mckennie – N/A
The former Schalke midfielder created a great goal-scoring opportunity for Frabotta early on but unfortunately had to leave the pitch inured after just 19 minutes.
Arthur – 6.5
The former Barcelona man is still apparently low on confidence, and hesitated before taking shots, but often shows flashes of quality with some beautiful passing.
Rodrigo Bentancur – 5.5
The Uruguayan maintained his dangerous habit of collecting yellow cards with some needless challenges. Offered very little throughout the first half and was rightfully taken off at the break.
Federico Chiesa – 6.5
The man of the match from Wednesday couldn’t exactly replicate his magical performance against Milan, but he was still one of the most dangerous Juventus players throughout the match, and his movement caused Sassuolo to play with a man down.
Paulo Dybala – 6
The Argentine star linked up well with his teammates during the first half, but eventually had to be Substituted after 40 mins with an ankle injury. The Bianconeri faithfuls will be hoping that it’s not a serious one.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 7
The Portuguese megastar refused to leave the pitch without getting his goal, and he was finally able to score it at the very last minute after a fabulous ball-control and run, as he made up for his the earlier chance that he wasted.
Juventus Substitutes
Aaron Ramsey – 7
The former Arsenal star was supposed to get the night off but was recalled early in the first half after Mckennie’s injury. Put on another solid shift and eventually got to score the vital second goal for his side.
Dejan Kulusevski – 6.5
An energetic display by the young Juventus winger who ran all around pitch trying to break through the Sassuolo walls. Set up a great chance for Ronaldo with a brilliant pass.
Adrien Rabiot – 6
It wasn’t a great display by the Frenchman, but an obvious improvement on Bentancur.
Alvaro Morata – N/A
Federico Bernardeschi – N/A
Sassuolo XI
Andrea Consigli – 6
The Italian veteran denied several Juventus chances, including ones from Ronaldo and Demiral, but couldn’t do much on the three goals that he conceded.
Mert Müldür – 6.5
The versatile Sassuolo defender started as a right-back and was able to close down the left flank of Juventus. Moved to a more central role during the second half.
Vlad Chiricheș – 6
The former Napoli man had his battles with the likes of Ramsey and Dybala and was generally reliable at the back.
Gian Marco Ferrari – 6.5
The strong Italian was able to push the Bianconeri forwards to the outside in order to receive the ball.
Giorgos Kyriakopoulos – 5.5
The Neroverdi left-back started the match well as he made some decent runs from the flank. But failed to follow up Ramsey and Ronaldo for Juve’s second and third goals.
Pedro Obiang – 4.5
The former Sampdoria man had a decent first half until he got himself sent off for a reckless challenge that almost broke Chiesa’s ankle.
Manuel Locatelli – 6.5
An impressive outing from the Milan youth product who moved well on and off the ball. Proved that he could be an improvement on some of the current Juventus midfielders.
Gergoire Defrel – 6.5
The versatile forward started as a right-winger without being too visible throughout the first half. Moved to his more natural striker role in the second half and punished the sloppy Juventus defenders with a well-taken equalizer for Sassuolo.
Filip Đuričić – 5.5
The attacking-midfielder didn’t see much of the ball during the first half, and was sacrificed at the break after Obiang’s red card.
Hamed Junior Traorè – 6.5
His younger brother Amed Diallo may have earned a move to Manchester United, but the Sassuolo man isn’t any less impressive. Ran all over the pitch and produced the assist for the visitors’ lone goal.
Francesco Caputo – 6
The Italian international worked hard during the first half, causing trouble for Bonucci but was also sacrificed at half-time.
Sassuolo Substitutes
Jeremy Toljan – 6
Helped Müldür in marshaling the right flank and contained Frabotta well until the Bianconeri’s second goal.
Maxime Lopez – 6
Replaced the dismissed Obiang and helped his side in maintaining composure despite the numerical disadvantage.
Jeremie Boga – 5.5
Surprisingly left out of the starting lineup, and didn’t receive the ball enough to display his usual brilliance.
Brain Oddei – 6.5
A very impressive display from the 18-year-old winger. Yet another one for the future.
Kaan Ayhan – N/A
15 – Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player able to score at least 15 goals in each of the last 15 seasons in the top-5 European leagues (since 2006/07). Giant.#JuveSassuolo pic.twitter.com/rS4vlrJkEh
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 10, 2021