At the Allianz stadium in Turin, Juventus welcomed Cagliari in Saturday’s evening fixture. Andrea Pirlo’s men dominated the encounter from start to finish, but once again had to rely on the excellence of Cristiano Ronaldo to unlock the Sardinian defenses, thanks to two brilliant finishes, earning his side a 2-0 victory. Here are our player ratings for the clash between Juventus and Cagliari.
Juventus XI
Gianluigi Buffon – 6
The 42-year-old legend was a spectator for most of the match as the Rossoblu failed to create a decent chance beside their disallowed goal.
Merih Demiral – 7
The Turkish international keeps growing in strength and confidence with every match. He can take credit for the assist on Ronaldo’s second as the ball struck him prior to the goal, and could have headed a goal of his own but was denied by the woodwork.
Matthijs De Ligt – 7.5
A magnificent performance from the young Dutchman who didn’t show any signs of rust in his long-awaited return. Dominated Simeone and Pedro with ease, and brought the ball forward with his confident passing.
Danilo – 6.5
Another solid display from the Brazilian veteran who stayed close to the two center-backs, while occasionally supporting the attacks.
Juan Cuadrado – 6.5
Despite some wasteful passing in the first half, the captain of the night was once again involved in most of the attacking build-up, while also taking dead-ball duties. His corner kick led to the Bianconeri’s second goal.
Arthur – 7
The former Barcelona man is slowly but surely adapting to his new Regista role. Always confident on the ball, Juve’s plays become much smoother with him around.
Adrien Rabiot – 6.5
The French international has cemented his position as a starter for both club and country. Linked up well with his Juventus teammates as he was very involved deep inside the Cagliari area.
Dejan Kulusevski – 7
The Swede is a true menace for opposition defenders. Played several one-two passes with Ronaldo, and was very close to scoring on several occasions.
Federico Bernardeschi – 6.5
An encouraging display for the Juventus winger who beat the Cagliari goalkeeper early in the match, before his goal was disallowed by VAR. Looked refreshed after a positive international break.
Alvaro Morata – 6.5
The Spaniard usually earns an offside goal, but this time he was denied an assist for Bernardeschi’s disallowed goal. Made up for it by assisting Ronaldo’s opener. Could have scored a goal for his own in the second half but scuffed his shot wide.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 8.5
A vintage display from the Portuguese legend. Opened the score with an exquisite finish to Cragno’s far post. Few minutes later sealed the brace with an extraordinary touch. In the second half, he resisted the chance to go for the hat-trick by dummying the ball to Bernardeschi’s path.
Juventus Substitutes
Paulo Dybala – 5.5
La Joya was eager to open his goal-scoring account in the league this season, but ended up being mostly wasteful.
Weston Mckennie – 6
The young Juventus midfielder is always full of energy, and his introduction caused further trouble to the already tired Cagliari midfield.
Federico Chiesa – N/A
Alex Sandro – N/A
Rodrigo Bentancur – N/A
Cagliari XI
Alessio Cragno – 6
The Cagliari goalkeeper was beaten by his compatriot Bernardeschi early on for the disallowed Juventus goal, but made up for it by denying the winger on several occasions. Couldn’t do much on Ronaldo’s brace
Fabio Pisacane – 5.5
Decided to help his teammate Zappa in stopping Ronaldo, but ended up losing him for Juve’s opener.
Ragnar Klavan – 6.5
The former Liverpool man was perhaps the best among the Cagliari defenders as he used his physical strength to limit Morata’s danger inside the area, and the Juventus striker looked more comfortable after his Substitution due to a head injury.
Sebastian Walukiewicz – 6.5
The young defender brilliantly denied an early goal for Ronaldo with a well-timed last-second interception.
Gabriele Zappa – 6
One of the rising young stars of Serie A this season. The young Cagliari wing-back had a decent outing, but couldn’t display his impressive skill-set in this difficult match against Juventus.
Marko Rog – 5.5
The former Napoli man was barely seen as his side clearly lost the midfield battle against the reigning champions.
Răzvan Marin – 5.5
The Ajax loanee wasn’t much better than his midfield partner, as he failed to help his side in creating chances.
Alessandro Tripaldelli – 6
The Italy Under-21 international looked composed as he found some success in his flank battle against Cuadrado, before being taken off at half-time as Eusebio Di Francesco opted for a different tactical formation.
Adam Ounas – 5.5
The young Algerian couldn’t pose much trouble for the Juventus defenders from the wings.
Joao Pedro – 6
The Cagliari captain wasn’t at his best tonight, as he looked physically tired, and yet he was still able to put some of the Juventus players on yellow cards.
Giovanni Simeone – 5.5
El Cholito was exiled for as long as he lasted on the pitch, with the Juventus defenders not allowing him a single goal-scoring chance.
Cagliari Substitutes
Ricardo Sottil – 6
The Fiorentina loanee entered the match with so much energy and determination, but it was too little too late to salvage anything for his side.