Juventus player ratings vs Sassuolo

A little late, but here are my ratings for every Juve player that featured against Sassuolo.

Szczęsny: 6.8

Saves - 4

Touches - 21

Passes - 15

Passing Acc. - 93%

Szczęsny has done a good job as Buffon’s replacement so far. He was constantly under pressure since Sassuolo were very successful throughout the game exposing our flanks to get into goal scoring positions. Sassuolo had a total of 15 shots taken with only 5 on target. Szczęsny was able to make 4 saves with the goal scored against us being the only one he failed to stop. I must admit I’m not sure there’s many goalkeepers in the world that would have been able to stop that goal. He had his eyes fixed on the ball and failed to react quick enough to the power header. This is probably unnecessary but I feel if Cancelo would have continued at right back instead of Cuadrado, he might have been better prepared to recover the ball and stop a possible successful cross which ended as a goal. No offense meant to Cuadrado, I just like him deployed in his natural position a lot more. Szczesny had an overall good performance.

Sandro: 7.3

Touches - 70

Passes - 45

Passing acc. - 80%

Tackles - 2

Fouls - 2

Aerials Won - 1

Sandro was unable to contribute to the attacking build up as much as I would've liked. This is mostly due to Sassuolo constantly attacking from the flanks. He had a very average performance but is definitely doing better than he did last year so far. If Sandro can somehow motivate himself to get back into the form he was in the 2016-17 season, he will play a very important role this season. In the world right now, I don’t think there’s an abundance of world-class left back’s so I can’t complain too much. Sandro is solid enough to be starting week in and week out. Although I can’t help but feel that he is not performing as good as I think he can.

Benatia: 7.5

Touches - 55

Passes - 42

Passing acc. - 95%

Tackles - 1

Fouls - 2

Aerials Won - 1

Benatia did fantastic for his first game for Juventus this season. He had a solid presence in defense throughout the game. It’s important for center backs to get the ball out of danger and he did just that with an amazing 95% passing success rate. Ever since last season, I am always confident when Benatia is on the field. Juventus being so stacked in this position means more performances like this will see his gametime increase over the year.

Bonucci: 7.3

Touches - 59

Passes - 49

Passing acc. - 91%

Aerials Won - 2

Ever since returning back from Milan this offseason, Bonucci has a chip on his shoulders to win the fans over again. I’m positive that half way into the season what happened before will be left in the past if he continues to give good performances. He is able to take the ball upfield and provide quality passes that not many others in his position are able to do. He is also very good in aerial battles having won two this game. I fully expect him to score some wonderful headers this season. That’s the only way to win us over!

Cancelo: 8.5

Touches - 81

Passes - 42

Passing acc. - 83%

Tackles - 5

Fouls - 3

Dribbles Won - 6

Total Shots - 1

On target - 1

I don’t even know where to start with Cancelo. He initially was going to be benched with De Sciglio starting, but a injury to De Sciglio got him the nod. He was one of the best players on the pitch. As we’ve seen before, he’s very solid going forward and joining the attack thanks to his dribbling abilities. His defensive output has been put into question before but his performance was enough to overshadow that with 5 successful tackles. He was simply all over the field all day, doing whatever he can to be involved. He is by no means scared to have possession when pressured. He has been very impressive and I’m very excited to see his progression with the Bianconeri.

Matuidi: 6.3

Touches - 42

Passes - 31

Passing acc. - 90%

Tackles - 2

Fouls - 1

Assessing Matuidi is very hard for myself. I really admire his relentless workrate. It’s very fun to watch him pressure the opposition. My only downside with him is his lack of creativity as he is a more defensive player. This isn’t a terribly bad thing but I believe Matuidi has the skill set to offer more in midfield.

Can: 7.6

Touches - 56

Passes - 42

Passing acc. - 88%

Fouls - 3

Total Shots - 3

On Target - 0

It seems that our acquisitions this offseason have all proved to be very promising. Can is no exception to this. Just like Matuidi, he has a very impressive work rate that was interesting to watch. Although unlike Matuidi, I felt he offered a bit more creativity. He was able to provide an assist to Ronaldo’s second goal that sealed us the win. With our midfield being a visible weakness, Can is definitely going to end up becoming a common starter due to what he offers.

Khedira: 6

Touches - 47

Passes - 31

Passing acc. - 80%

Tackles - 2

Once the game concluded, as with every other past match, many were quick to express their negative views on Khedira. I personally don’t have anything against Khedira but I do feel that he shouldn’t start as much. He especially shouldn’t feature much in the Champions League even if he is very experienced. If he performs the way we’ve seen him lately, he will surely be exposed and teams will target playing through him. He should only feature consistently in domestic competitions. Even then, I don’t like the idea of him getting more game time over the promising Bentancur which needs minutes to develop. Can is the more established midfielder compared to Bentancur so I’m sure he will eventually start games naturally. I realize I’m contradicting myself, everything regarding Khedira is just a very complicated debate. Against Sassuolo in particular, I felt his overall performance was average. For being in one of the best teams in the world, he needs to start showing up more.

Dybala: 6.4

Touches - 57

Passes - 35

Passing acc. - 91%

Tackles - 1

Fouls - 1

Dribbles Won - 1

Total Shots -1

On target - 0

Dybala didn’t really have an amazing game but he wasn’t bad either. He did most of what I expect from a player of his caliber, to dribble past the opposition or make precision passes. He is very good at finding space to score from or provide that extra pass that will lead to one. With his very creative style of play, I really believe that he will make a deadly partnership with Ronaldo. The more game time he gets, the more chemistry will be built and he will be in position to have a great season.

Mandzukic: 6.2

Touches - 20

Passes - 16

Passing acc. - 68%

Total Shots - 1

On Target - 0

After starting off the season in phenomenal form, Mandzukic seemed to slow down his pace this game. He wasn’t very active in the build up but let’s not forget he’s also expected to pressure/defend. I will cut him some slack since he’s the reason we’ve started off the season so strong. I’m sure he’ll be back to giving great performances soon.

Ronaldo: 9.2

Touches - 42

Passes - 24

Passing acc. - 79%

Aerials Won - 2

Fouls - 1

Dribbles Won - 2

Total Shots - 9

On target - 3

Goals - 2

I still can’t believe Ronaldo is a Juventus player. It’s so crazy to me, that even if I know it’s true I still can’t fully comprehend it somehow. Ronaldo had a Man of the Match performance having broken his goal scoring issue with a brace. He also came very close to completing a hat trick with two near misses. News outlets surely were upset they could no longer bring this up every second article they posted for the past few weeks. Now that he’s finally scored and the pressure is off, he will come back ready to consistently score as always. With the first UCL group stage match up this Wednesday, he seems to be more than ready.

Substitutes will not be rated to due lack of game time or not having done something worth mentioning.

Costa: N/A

(61’ substitution)

Touches - 17

Passes - 9

Passing acc. - 88%

Dribbles Won - 1

Total Shots - 2

On target - 0

Every Juventus player is expected to act professionally at all times even if provoked. His actions were very shocking and disappointing. Juventus can definitely afford to not have him start a few games but he must always do what’s in the best interest of his club. I hope this kind of situation never arises again.

Bentancur: N/A

(71’ substitution)

Touches - 13

Passes - 10

Passing acc. - 90%

All I can say is that I hope Allegri gives him the necessary game time to develop. Our midfield must improve since it’s our main weakness. The more quality in our midfield, the better we’ll perform overall. I believe getting Bentancur game time in Serie A will be crucial for our future.

Cuadrado: N/A

Touches - 10

Passes - 6

Passing acc. - 83%

When Allegri substituted Cuadrado in for Sandro, Cancelo moved to left back to allow Cuadrado to play on the right. I have been very uncomfortable with Allegri attempting to transform him into a right back. His failed tackle, along with Costa’s to be fair, resulted in the opposition scoring a goal. His defensive capabilities are just not good enough to feature in this position. I prefer him to play in his natural position being in the right flank as a winger/midfielder.

Thanks for reading.

Forza Juve!