Juventus Player Ratings from a comfortable victory over Genoa

Juventus followed up their imperative victory over Napoli in the week with a hard-fought 3-1 triumph against Genoa on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts started brightly and soon found themselves in the lead through Dejan Kulusevski. Their lead was quickly doubled following an Alvaro Morata tap-in after some wonderful work from Federico Chiesa.

Genoa enjoyed a resurgence on either side of half-time, however with a Gianluca Scamacca header halving the deficit. The visitors came close to an equaliser before they were caught out at the other end when a failed offside trap allowed substitute Weston McKennie to grab Juve’s third. Chances continued to flow for the Bianconeri in the dying embers, but they were forced to settle for 3-1.

Here are the Juventus player ratings from Sunday afternoon.

GK – Wojciech Szczesny

It was a busy afternoon for Szczesny, with the Pole enjoying a bounce-back performance between the sticks after his poor outing in the derby. There was a huge save from Scamacca just before half-time and a smart denial of a Pjaca effort from range amid Genoa’s brief resurgence. He could do little about the goal.

Rating: 7.5/10

RB – Juan Cuadrado

A scratchy afternoon for Cuadrado who, after setting up Kulusevski’s opener with a wonderful sequence that embodied his quick Colombian feet, endured a difficult afternoon one-v-one against the rapid Davide Zappacosta.

He also had a run-in with the handball law on several occasions, with one infringement of such earning the full-back a yellow card. Brought off at the break.

Rating: 5.5/10

CB – Matthijs de Ligt

De Ligt’s defending for Scamacca’s header somewhat undermined an otherwise imperious defensive display. There was a huge block to deny Zappacosta in the opening exchanges, as well as examples of proactive centre-back play scattered throughout the 90 minutes.

Rating: 7.5/10

CB – Giorgio Chiellini

The veteran wasn’t entirely noticeable in this one as de Ligt enjoyed more of the defensive work. Nevertheless, the fact I didn’t really notice him is probably a good thing.

Rating: 6.5/10

LB – Danilo

Danilo was so impressive considering his function. Usually, the presence of a right-footed player at left-back inhibits the attacking efficiency down that flank, but not in this case.

Through dynamic underlaps and frequent surges into the final third, Danilo proved a reliable attacking source for Juve down the left-hand side before his attacking proficiency diminished – although, he did grab an assist – after switching over the right-back for the second half.

Rating: 7/10

RM – Federico Chiesa

It was a quiet start to proceedings for Juventus’ superstar before a Valon Behrami mishap in the middle of the park presented Chiesa with an opportunity to break. Within a flash, the distance between the Swiss veteran and young Italian was akin to Usain Bolt’s against the rest of the field at Beijing 2008. Chiesa advanced into the Genoa box, drawing a fine save from Perrin before Morata eventually tapped home.

The sequence embodied Chiesa’s freakish brilliance in what was another stellar display drenched in overwhelming tenacity.

Rating: 7.5/10

CM – Rodrigo Bentancur

A combative and industrious display from the Uruguayan, but one bereft of any touch or subtleness. Bentancur appeared frantic throughout, especially when Genoa sought to dispossess Juve high up the field, as he was culpable of the odd error in the build-up. Work needs to be done on his body orientation when receiving.

Rating: 5.5/10

CM – Adrien Rabiot

Rabiot’s superb effort against Napoli was followed up by a diligent outing on Sunday afternoon. The Frenchman proved the more composed pivot member in Juve’s build-up – occasionally dropping between the back two to aid the process – and robust in the defensive phase. The midfielder’s combined five tackles and interceptions ranked highest among the Juve XI.

Rating: 7.5/10

LM – Dejan Kulusevski

Boy, did Kulusevski need that goal. What a fine strike it was, too, calmly sliding the ball past a motionless Mattia Perin to give Juve the lead.

The finish set the tone for the Swede’s finest Serie A outing of the calendar year, a performance tinged with grace and poise. He proved a thorn in the Genoa defence throughout, with the youngster’s hustle out of possession Chiesa-esque.

It was a timely return to form for Kulusevski amid Paulo Dybala’s return to fitness.

Rating: 7.5/10

ST – Alvaro Morata

Morata, too, grabbed a much-needed goal, sparing Cristiano Ronaldo’s blushes in the process. The finish was simple but imperative for the Spaniard, who’s produced selfless displays in recent weeks without much reward.

Again, his movement was smart and aided Juve’s build-up. The forward was seemingly a ubiquitous option between the lines for the Bianconeri to progress, while his work off one and two touches was impressive.

Rating: 7/10

ST – Cristiano Ronaldo

I’m sure Ronaldo will be lamenting himself for not getting on the scoresheet considering the openings he squandered. Nevertheless, the forward was, as he was in the Napoli triumph, a key part of an exciting Juve attack in the first half of this one, with his interchanges with Chiesa, in particular, proving effective.

Rating: 6.5/10