Juventus took down Lecce 4-0 after an inspired second half.
Although Juventus started the game slowly and failed to take advantage of a controversial red card in the first half to one of Lecce’s players, the Old Lady eventually took off in the second half and beat one of Serie A’s worst teams handily.
Paulo Dybala, once again, scored the first goal via a brilliant shot from the center edge of the penalty box. Cristiano Ronaldo put home a penalty kick, Gonzalo Higuain scored in his return off the bench, and Juve won 4-0 at the Allianz Stadium to increase their lead in the Serie A table.
Here are the full player ratings from the win.
GK Wojciech Szczesny
Once again, the former Arsenal and Roma star goalkeeper wasn’t tested at all by the opposition. It has been a quiet start to the Serie A season for him.
Rating: 6.0 out of 10
LB Blaise Matuidi
With Alex Sandro and Mattia De Sciglio injured and emergency option Danilo suspended, Blaise Matuidi drew the start at left back and played quite well. He forced a save, worked hard defensively, and did well to support the attack despite not having much in the form of midfield play in front of him.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
CB Leonardo Bonucci
Always consistent, the experienced center back won two tackles, per WhoScored.com, to lead the team defensively and played some dangerous long balls to set up attacks. Leonardo Bonucci completed 93.6 percent of his passes, including eight of eight long balls.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
CB Matthijs de Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt had another sensational game in Italian football’s return, even scoring a goal to seal the game at 4-0 by heading home from point-blank range after some woeful defending. The Dutch defender came close earlier with a great shot from well beyond the box that had to be saved. De Ligt showed great passing instincts and pushed up the pitch plenty with Lecce reduced to 10 men.
Rating: 7.0 out of 10
RB Juan Cuadrado
Colombian wide man Juan Cuadrado worked incredibly hard defensively and did plenty to support Juve’s attack, linking up well with Douglas Costa when he entered the pitch. Cuadrado led all Juventus players with 84 passes, though he didn’t necessarily have his best final product on this day.
Rating: 6.0 out of 10
CM Adrien Rabiot
Another poor performance from Adrien Rabiot, who was taken off in order to accommodate the much more effective Douglas Costa in attack. Rabiot’s passing is accurate, per usual, but it never really offers anything of substance.
Rating: 5.0 out of 10
CM Miralem Pjanic
Although Miralem Pjanic is on his way out of Turin and will finally swap places with Barcelona’s Arthur Melo, he performed much better on Friday night at the Allianz Stadium against Lecce. After producing several poor performances in a Black and White kit since football’s return, Pjanic had seven key passes and completed 95 percent of his 80 attempts vs. Lecce. Most of those passes were short, simple ones, but they were effective at breaking down Lecce in the second half.
Rating: 7.0 out of 10
CM Rodrigo Bentancur
Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is becoming one of Juventus’ most important players, but he had another off game on Friday night. Bentancur completed nearly 93 percent of his passes, but he made some poor decisions defensively and didn’t carry the ball effectively, especially in the first half.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
LW Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo missed two incredibly easy chances with his head that you’d normally bet on him to put away, as Lecce left him completely unmarked both times. He went for a couple of spectacular goals, but nothing really came off for him. Ronaldo did make it 2-0 with a penalty smashed down the middle – a penalty that he drew – and assisted for Gonzalo Higuain when his backheel luckily bounced off a defender’s knee. The stats show that Ronaldo was highly effective, and he was certainly dangerous off the ball. But once again, Ronaldo was inconsistent and not clinical. He can consider himself fortunate to have a goal and two assists to add to his tally.
Rating: 6.0 out of 10
CF Paulo Dybala
Among the attacking players who started the game for the Old Lady, Paulo Dybala was the most effective. He has been the true star man for the Bianconeri since the restart, and he scored another fantastic goal from just outside the box. Dybala’s shooting accuracy and vision in the final third are a class apart.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
RW Federico Bernardeschi
After tearing Bologna apart as the best player on the pitch, Federico Bernardeschi had a far worse performance vs. Lecce. Bernardeschi was not on the same page as his teammates, as he was frequently offside and wasteful in possession. He did not distinguish himself as chance creator or goal-scoring threat on Friday.
Rating: 5.0 out of 10
RW Douglas Costa
Douglas Costa was the Man of the Match against Lecce, there can be no doubt about it. The experienced Brazilian entered the game as a substitute in the second half, and Juventus scored one minute later. They ended up winning 4-0 after scoring zero times before Costa’s inclusion, and that isn’t by accident. Costa is a skillful, hard-working attacker who keeps possession, wins dribbles, and gets everyone else involved in the game. Juve need him to win more trophies than just Serie A. In one half, Costa had five key passes and seven dribbles completed. Magnificent.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10