Juventus made their 2021 debut at home in the Allianz stadium by welcoming Udinese before their crucial meeting against Milan in midweek. After a uninspiring half hour, Ronaldo broke the deadlock for the home side, before adding an assist and another goal in the second half. The visitors scored a late consolation goal, but Dybala punished them right at the buzzer as it ended 4-1 for the champions. So here are our player ratings for the encounter between Juventus and Udinese.
Juventus XI
Wojciech Szczęsny – 6
The former Arsenal shot-stopper thought he was heading for a routine clean sheet, but was eventually denied in the dying minutes despite his efforts to save the chance.
Danilo – 6.5
The Brazilian enjoyed a mostly quiet evening as he didn’t surge forward as usual, but made up for it with a last minute assist for Dybala’s goal.
Leonardo Bonucci – 7
The captain of the night made up for his horrific Fiorentina display with a solid performance overall. Made several key interceptions on Udinese balls including one against Pussetto, and Juventus only conceded after his exit.
Matthijs De Ligt – 6
The big Dutchman wasn’t as composed as usual, despite making some strong tackles to deny the Zebrette players and got himself needlessly booked.
Alex Sandro – 6
The former Porto man was always present to support his teammates on the overlap, but struggled to deliver good crosses to the area.
Federico Chiesa – 7.5
The Italian winger is becoming an essential member of Andrea Pirlo’s starting line-up. Brilliantly finished off his goal after an impressive run, and could have added two assists to his name but Ramsey ended up wasting the chances.
Weston Mckennie – 6.5
The young American had a mediocre first half where he got himself booked for a silly challenge, but his performance improved after the break when he helped Juventus in completely dominating inside the Udinese areas.
Rodrigo Bentancur – 8
An almost complete performance by the Uruguayan who offered everything one would like to see from a central-midfielder. Won countless balls for his side, spreaded the play well, and provided Ronaldo’s second with a simple yet smart assist.
Aaron Ramsey – 6.5
What the Welshman lacks in talent, he makes up for it in determination. Was unlucky not to score tonight as he was denied twice by Musso and once by VAR, but he smartly stole the ball from De Paul as he provided Ronaldo with the assist for the first goal. However, he almost gifted Udinese an equalizer a minute later after losing the ball inside the Juventus areas.
Paulo Dybala – 6.5
Another mixed bag for La Joya. While he still lacks the usual killer touch and the ability to dance his away around his markers, he’ll be happy to score a goal in the dying seconds which should give him a crucial mental boost before Milan’s match.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 8.5
Perhaps one the Portuguese’s best displays of the season so far. Opened the scoring with a fabulous run and shot to the wide corner, before sending Chiesa through with a sublime assist and finally beating Musso in the one-on-one to complete his brace. A dazzling performance from start to finish.
Juventus Substitutes
Arthur – 6.5
The Brazilian kept things ticking in midfield with his quick and short passes.
Federico Bernardeschi – N/A
Dejan Kulusevski –N/A
Giorgio Chiellini –N/A
Gianluca Fabrotta –N/A
Udinese XI
Juan Musso – 6
The Argentine goalkeeper was able to deny Ramsey on several occasions, but couldn’t do much on none of the four goals.
Sebastien De Maio – 5
A night to forget for the former Genoa man. Failed to stop Ronaldo on Juve’s opener and his distribution from the back was generally poor.
Kevin Bonifazi – 5.5
The Spal loanee wasn’t necessarily at fault in either goal but was at times nowhere to be seen at the back.
Samir – 5.5
The Brazilian started the match strongly, and made a key interception on Ronaldo at the end of the first half, but his poor pass led to Ronaldo’s second goal and couldn’t intercept Dybala on the last one.
Jens Stryger Larsen – 5.5
The Danish defender had some success in his personal battle against Sandro, but struggled to contain Chiesa when he moved to his flank in the second half. Was unlucky to see his header hitting the woodwork.
Rodrigo De Paul – 6.5
Despite being disposed off the ball for the first Juventus goal, the Argentine star is by far the best player at Udinese. Thought he had opened the scoring with a spectacular counter attack but was denied by VAR for a handball in the build-up.
Wallace – 6
The Brazilian is the shield that protects the Zebrette defense, and had a solid outing tonight as he battled the hosts for every ball in the middle of the pitch.
Roberto Pereyra – 5.5
A very quiet night for the former Juventus midfielder who went missing for most of the match, especially when Udinese needed a spark in midfield.
Marvin Zeegelaar – 6.5
A solid performance by the Dutchman who’s shot unluckily struck the woodwork, before redeeming himself with a late goal.
Kevin Lasagna – 5.5
A hard working display as usual from the Italian, but his most memorable contribution was assisting De Paul’s disallowed goal.
Ignacio Pussetto – 5
The Udinese forward tried to break through the Juventus backline with his pace, but was mostly shrugged off by his physically stronger opponents.
Udinese Substitutes
Fernando Forestieri – 5.5
The Italo-Argentine almost scored with a long shot late in the second half.
Nahuel Molina – 6
Provided Udinese’s lone goal with his run from the right.
Rolando Mandragora – N/A
Ilija Nestorovski – N/A
Jean-Victor Makengo – N/A
6 – Cristiano #Ronaldo has scored 2+ goals in 6 matches in Serie A 2020/21, a joint-record alongside Robert Lewandowski in the Top-5 European Leagues. Bunches.#JuventusUdinese #SerieA
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 3, 2021