Juventus vs. Crotone: 3 takeaways from a comfortable 3-0 win

Juventus got the job done on Serie A’s Matchday 23 at the Allianz Stadium, defeating Crotone 3-0 to rebound from a tough Champions League loss to FC Porto last week. The Bianconeri took full advantage of the league’s worst defense in history to this point, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a first-half brace of headers.

Here are three takeaways from Juve’s shutout victory.

Aaron Ramsey shows positive involvement

Aaron Ramsey had a few spotty moments when it came to closing down Junior Messias, and he won’t get away with some of the chances he missed against a better defense. But at the end of the day, Ramsey’s return to the starting XI was a positive one, mostly because he kept getting involved creatively in Juve’s attacks.

The Welsh international is important to the Bianconeri in terms of his ability to create chances, and he provided a delightful cross for Ronaldo’s second. Ramsey, according to WhoScored.com, led the team with five key passes. While he wasn’t the most effective defender, he was active, and that enabled him to record two interceptions.

Federico Chiesa shines brightly again

It seems like in almost every Serie A match in 2021, Federico Chiesa finds a way to steal the show. The Fiorentina loanee had some expert crosses against Crotone, and he was working as hard as ever in the attack to create goals for his teammates.

Chiesa had four key passes and four dribbles completed, as Crotone could not contain his energy. He is such a classy player when he starts on the right-hand side of the formation for Juventus, and he was honestly unlucky not to have scored or assisted in this match. There wasn’t a more impressive player out there than Chiesa on Monday night.

Weston McKennie chips in again

Weston McKennie has now scored five times this season for Juventus in all competitions, as he took his chance at the heart of the penalty box extremely well, volleying home for the Old Lady to seal the game at 3-0.

The American center midfielder is the best healthy midfielder on the Bianconeri with Arthur Melo out, and he proved it on Monday night. McKennie had three interceptions to go with his goal, and a couple of his ball recoveries started counterattacks for the home side.

It’s been amazing to watch McKennie blossom in Turin. He is getting opportunities to shine with Juve that he would have never received with the dysfunctional Schalke. Juve have their own issues, but McKennie is taking full advantage of playing with the likes of Chiesa and Ronaldo.