Juventus faltered once again in the top-four race as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Fiorentina on Sunday afternoon.
The Bianconeri were sluggish from the outset and deservedly found themselves 1-0 down after Dusan Vlahovic sat down Wojciech Szczęsny from the spot with the deftest of panenkas. A system switch after the break saw the visitors improve almost immediately as Alvaro Morata grabbed a swift equaliser.
While Juve dominated the second period, La Viola held on for an imperative point in the race for survival.
Here are the Juventus player ratings from the contest.
GK – Wojciech Szczęsny
A mixed afternoon for the Poland international. There was smart early work to deny Vlahovic and Nikola Milenkovic from distance, but he was also hesitant throughout and produced the odd fumble. Indifferent.
Rating: 6/10
CB – Matthijs de Ligt
A clumsy, rugged opening 45 minutes morphed into an inactive finale as Juventus monopolised possession against the fatiguing visitors in the second period. The Dutchman failed to progress the ball despite the absence of a Fiorentina press, often favouring simple passes across to his centre-back partner or out wide to Juan Cuadrado.
Rating: 5/10
CB – Leonardo Bonucci
The Juventus skipper had his work cut out in this one being matched up against the purring Vlahovic and although he didn’t replicate his horror show from the reverse fixture, Pirlo felt it necessary to substitute him at half-time to facilitate a systematic switch.
Rating: 5/10
CB – Giorgio Chiellini
The Italian seemed to have an adventurous role in Pirlo’s back three – I definitely saw an overlap in the opening stages – before returning to a more archetypal function in the back four. Overall, it was a fairly quiet outing for Chiellini as Fiorentina’s threat waned after the restart. He did produce four combined tackles and interceptions, however, and was fairly efficient in possession, too.
Rating: 6/10
RWB – Juan Cuadrado
Igor’s ability to engage Cuadrado higher up the pitch mitigated the Colombian’s threat in the first half before Pirlo’s switch to a 4-4-2 saw the veteran spring into the life. With Dejan Kulusveki taking up positions in the right half-space, Cuadrado was granted more space to roam down the flank.
The Colombian proved a valuable creative source as the game wore on, producing moments of magic in one-v-ones and crossing situations.
Rating: 7/10
CM – Rodrigo Bentancur
Bentancur enjoyed – or endured, shall we say – a physical battle with Sofyan Amrabat throughout, although it was the Moroccan who often prevailed in such duels.
The Uruguayan produced a performance drenched in industry but bereft of quality in possession (boasting a poor 76.9% pass completion). His eight combined tackles and interceptions joint-led his side, however, while his six clearances topped the Juve charts.
Rating: 6.5/10
CM – Adrien Rabiot
The Frenchman’s flailing arm gifted the hosts the lead in the opening half-hour in what proved his most notable action of this contest. Nevertheless, much of Rabiot’s work would’ve gone under the radar.
He proved diligent in defensive transition and robust in the defensive phase – an area where he’s made huge improvements this term. The midfielder’s haul of eight combined tackles and interceptions matched Bentancur.
In the second half, we saw him move out to the left at a greater frequency in an attempt to combine and rotate with Alex Sandro and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rating: 6.5/10
LWB – Alex Sandro
The hero from Wednesday night was nothing short of anonymous in this one. The Brazilian’s inability to penetrate in behind further exacerbated Juve’s struggles down the left flank in the opening period.
Nevertheless, his role altered after the break, back to a more familiar function. Sandro was the left-sided centre-back in possession, although he was granted some freedom to advance into the final third and combine/rotate with those ahead of him.
Rating: 6/10
AM – Aaron Ramsey
Aaron Ramsey’s Bianconeri career is stuttering towards a forgettable conclusion. The Welshman poked Juve’s most promising opening of the first half wide of Bartłomiej Drągowski’s goal amid a frustrating performance. He was substituted for Weston McKennie midway through the second half.
Rating: 4.5/10
ST – Paulo Dybala
The crafty Argentine looked well off the pace in the opening stages but sprung into life with a subtle but brilliant turn to bypass former Juve man Martin Caceres that kickstarted the sequence leading to Ramsey’s chance before half-time. Hooked for Alvaro Morata at the break.
Rating: 5/10
ST – Cristiano Ronaldo
After spending much of the first half seeing how close he get position himself to Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed a brighter second period – frequently popping up in a wide left position. There were vintage moments in one-v-ones but atypical sequences in the final third as well. Lacked a cutting edge on his return to the XI.
Rating: 6/10