At the Dacia arena in Udine, the Zebrette hosted their more famous black and white counterparts. The hosts took an early lead through a quickly-executed freekick turned home by Nahuel Molina. Andrea Pirlo’s men never looked like scoring, but they were given a late penalty due to a handball, and it was converted by Cristiano Ronaldo who completed a turnaround with a personal brace. So here are our player ratings for the encounter between Udinese and Juventus.
Udinese XI
Simone Scuffet – 5.5
The Italian goalkeeper made some decent saves in the first half, but let his team down when it mattered the most, as he couldn’t handle Ronaldo’s header that crept through his near corner.
Rodrigo Becao – 6
A decent performance from the solid but unspectacular Brazilian defender, who did well in dealing with Ronaldo and company throughout the match.
Kevin Bonifazi – 6.5
The former Spal man played at the very center of the defense and looked comfortable all evening. Luca Gotti surprisingly decided to replace him in the dying minutes, and his substitute Samir failed to track down Ronaldo for Juve’s second.
Bram Nuytinck – 6.5
The Dutchman’s main task was to track and stop Dybala, and he certainty did well in this department, as the Argentine barely had a sniff at goal.
Nahuel Molina – 6.5
The young wingback was surprisingly the author of his side’s lone goal, and was a spark of energy during the first half. His performance in the second half was a little quieter however.
Rodrigo De Paul – 7
The Argentine star needlessly gave away a penalty kick with a handball, but this shouldn’t take away all the efforts he put in the match. Won and converted the freekick that led to his side’s goal, and caused all kind of troubles for his opponents with his thrilling runs.
Wallace – 6
A tough presence in the middle of the park. The Brazilian won the ball back on several occasions, but like some of his teammates, had trouble in maintaining order in the last minutes.
Tolgay Arslan – 6
The Turkish international had a golden opportunity to seal the match for Udinese with a second goal, but ended up wasting it, and was replaced in the second half and had to witness the Juventus comeback from the bench.
Jens Stryger Larsen – 6.5
The Danish international offered a threatening presence from the left flank, and almost scored from long range. Did well to contain Cuadrado’s danger throughout the encounter.
Roberto Pereyra – 5.5
The former Watford man was expected to add some creativity against his former club, but instead ended up contributing in the dirty work in midfield, as the hosts mainly focused on maintaining their lead.
Stefano Okaka – 6
The former Roma striker didn’t have clear-cut chances in front of goal, but his contribution for the team was noticeable, bringing his teammates into play whilst causing problems for his opponents with his incredible physical strength.
Udinese Substitutes
Fernando Foristieri – N/A
Samir – N/A
Thomas Ouwejan – N/A
Juventus XI
Wojciech Szczesny – 5.5
The Polish shot-stopper wasn’t exactly at fault for the Zebrette’s early goal – almost pulling a save on it – and didn’t have much to do for the rest of the evening.
Danilo – 6
A solid performance at the back from the former Real Madrid man, but his linkup with Cuadrado on the right flank failed to create danger for the opponents.
Matthijs de Ligt – 6
The former Ajax captain was rarely troubled during the match, and at times tried to contribute on the attack, as his team was desperate for a goal for most of the 90 minutes.
Leonardo Bonucci – 6
Not a bad performance from the birthday boy who was able to hold his own against the physically-imposing Okaka.
Alex Sandro – 5.5
Another average performer in the Juventus defense, but it must be said that the Brazilian managed to break through the Udinese defenses with a brilliant dribble in the first half. Maybe a little more of it next time.
Juan Cuadrado – 5.5
The Colombian never lacks the energy or the determination, but it was a relatively very quiet night for his standards, as he failed to impose himself as a threat on the right flank.
Rodrigo Bentancur – 6
The former Boca Juniors man managed to connect well with Dybala at times, and put on so much efforts to retrieve the ball for his side, but couldn’t quite dominate the middle of the park.
Federico Bernardeschi – 5
A forgettable display from the former Fiorentina man who never managed to create danger from the left flank and was substituted early in the second half.
Weston McKennie – 5.5
The young American seems to be lacking the same level of energy that he displayed earlier in the season. Committed the foul on De Paul which led to the hosts’ opener, and his touch on the ball left much to be desired.
Paulo Dybala – 5
The former Palermo star looked like a shadow of his former self once again, as his sublime touch was nowhere to be seen. Still has to work hard to find his best form.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 7
The Portuguese superstar never looked like scoring today, and yet, fate had other plans for him, as he made no mistake from the spot, before sealing his brace with a towering header in the dying minutes, finding his smile back in the process.
Juventus Substitutes
Dejan Kulusevski – 6
The Swede proved to be a vast improvement on the disappointing Bernardeschi.
Alvaro Morata – 5
Replaced Dybala without adding anything significant. The Spaniard is not at his best physical shape.
Adrien Rabiot – 6.5
The Frenchman was introduced very late in the match, but he was still able to contribute with a spectacular long-range assist.
Felix Correia – N/A
27 – Only Robert Lewandowski (36) has scored more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo (27) in the top-5 European Leagues 2020/21 (CR overtakes Lionel Messi, 26 goals). Triumvirate.#UdineseJuventus
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 2, 2021