Juventus shut down Bologna at the Renato Dell’Ara on Monday night.
After losing to Napoli in the Coppa Italia final, Juventus knew they needed to get off on the right foot in the first game of the Serie A restart. Bologna can be a dangerous attacking side, but Juve handled them with ease on the road, shutting down star player Riccardo Orsolini and playing excellent defense in the process.
Juve got off to an early 2-0 lead after a controversial penalty that Cristiano Ronaldo sunk, and then a beautiful goal by Paulo Dybala.
Here are the full player ratings for the Bianconeri from the victory.
GK Wojciech Szczesny
Never tested in goal, Wojciech Szczesny made no mistakes but also didn’t have to make any big saves. The defense in front of him did a great job of curtailing Bologna’s opportunities for a shot on target, of which they had just one.
Rating: 6.0 out of 10
LB Mattia De Sciglio
As expected, Mattia De Sciglio lost the ball cheaply and offered no crossing threat for Juve’s attack in this game. He did, however, play well defensively, looking calm in shutting down Orsolini. De Sciglio had to leave the game due to an apparent hamstring injury, and since Danilo got himself sent off, Juan Cuadrado is the only fullback left. Per WhoScored.com, De Sciglio had three interceptions for the Bianconeri.
Rating: 6.0 out of 10
CB Leonardo Bonucci
He made some critical blocks and did not put a foot wrong, though his passing seemed to fail him with a completion percentage barely above 80 percent. Still, Leonardo Bonucci was as composed as ever for the Old Lady, working well with Matthijs de Ligt once again.
Rating: 7.0 out of 10
CB Matthijs de Ligt
The best defender for the Bianconeri in yet another game, Matthijs de Ligt was impossible to get past. Smart in defense and working hard to fight for every ball, de Ligt may have lacked sharpness in the passing game like many of his teammates, but he more than made up for it with his effort. De Ligt calmly cleared six balls, intercepted three, and recorded three blocks. He is one of Serie A’s top defenders.
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
RB Juan Cuadrado
Another top performer in Juve’s back four, Juan Cuadrado was tasked with leading the attack from the back, as Juve needed to overload the left side in order to prevent Mattia De Sciglio from having to take on too many attacking responsibilities. Cuadrado fought like a warrior in the win, winning a team-high three tackles and four interceptions with a couple of clearances to boot. He was difficult to stop in the attack, so Bologna had to foul him six times.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10