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Juventus 4-2 Zenit: Player ratings as Dybala & Chiesa shine in rout

By James Cormack

Juventus' Argentine forward Paulo Dybala (C-L) celebrates with Juventus' Italian forward Federico Chiesa and teammates after scoring a penalty during the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Juventus and Zenit on November 02, 2021 at the Juventus stadium in Turin. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP) (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images)
Juventus' Argentine forward Paulo Dybala (C-L) celebrates with Juventus' Italian forward Federico Chiesa and teammates after scoring a penalty during the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Juventus and Zenit on November 02, 2021 at the Juventus stadium in Turin. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP) (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Juventus produced a scintillating display in the Champions League on Tuesday night as they blitzed past Zenit 4-2 to continue their perfect start in Group H.

The victory means Juve have secured their passage into the knockout phase of the competition.

The Old Lady burst out of the blocks and took an early lead through the sensational Paulo Dybala. They were soon pegged back, however, as Leonardo Bonucci flicked a header into his own net. That was as good as it got for the visitors, though, with Juventus turning on the style in the second period.

Dybala got his second from the penalty spot to restore Juve’s lead before the brilliant Federico Chiesa added a magical third and Alvaro Morata grabbed a much-needed goal. At 4-1, the contest was all but over, but Zenit did snatch a late consolation through Sardar Azmoun.

Here are the Juventus player ratings from a masterful Champions League showing.

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Leonardo Bonucci was among the Zenit scorers on Tuesday night. (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)
Leonardo Bonucci was among the Zenit scorers on Tuesday night. (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images) /

Wojciech Szczesny (GK) – 7/10 – You feel that the Szczesny of a couple of months ago couldn’t have pulled off some of the saves he made tonight. Juve’s number one saved smartly from a few Zenit efforts from distance. There was little he could do to deny the visitors scoring twice on the night. Confidence in the Pole has been fully restored.

Danilo (RB) – 7.5/10 – The ultra-intelligent Danilo was at his efficient best tonight. His cool chest down to Szczesny in the opening exchanges set the tone in a controlled performance. Defensively, there was almost nothing to critique, while he offered a mini-spark in possession. Danilo combined nicely with Chiesa early on and was more dynamic than we’ve seen in recent weeks.

Leonardo Bonucci (CB) – 7/10 – Bonucci was mightily unfortunate to convert into his own net for Zenit’s first-half equaliser, but responded well to enjoy a comfortable outing. His distribution was excellent for the most part and was at ease defensively despite Zenit threatening on the counter.

Matthijs de Ligt (CB) – 8/10 – Zenit’s deployment of Azmoun and Andrei Mostovoy presented a different challenge for De Ligt, who marked Artem Dzyuba out of the contest in the reverse fixture. However, the dynamic threats of the aforementioned pair failed to deter the Dutchman, who was quite brilliant in this one. Just play him every game, Max.

Alex Sandro (LB) – 6.5/10 – So much better from Alex Sandro. The Brazilian looked much more comfortable in possession compared to previous outings and we finally saw a more aggressive iteration of the full-back tonight – in all phases. He was strong in the tackle, occupied positions in the final third and even delivered a decent cross. Yes, you read that right. A decent cross!

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