Juventus 2-0 Genoa: Player ratings as Bianconeri move up to fifth in Serie A
Juventus moved up to fifth in the Serie A table as they beat an injury-riddled Genoa 2-0 on Sunday night.
The Bianconeri were dominant from start to finish, but woeful finishing combined with some Salvatore Sirigu heroics meant Juve weren’t able to sit comfortably on their lead until late on.
Sirigu atoned for his involvement in Juve’s opener as Juan Cuadrado directly curled home an inswinging corner. Matthijs de Ligt, Alvaro Morata, Paulo Dybala and Cuadrado were all denied by the Genoa shot-stopper, who kept his side in the contest.
But the hosts weren’t made to pay for their final third inefficiency as the visitors could barely escape their own half. Wojciech Szczesny was a mere bystander as Dybala secured Juve’s victory with an emphatic finish after 82 minutes.
Here are the Juventus player ratings from Sunday night’s win.
Goalkeeper & Defenders
Wojciech Szczesny (GK) – 6/10 – Another quiet outing for Szczesny, who didn’t have a save to make.
Juan Cuadrado (RB) – 7/10 – The Colombian joined Hakan Calhanoglu among the Serie A players to score directly from a corner on Matchday 15. Eight men have done it over the past decade. Otherwise, this wasn’t the cleanest of displays from Cuadrado, who gave possession away sloppily in the first half. Nevertheless, he was a constant source of width and a valuable outlet for the Bianconeri tonight.
Matthijs de Ligt (CB) – 6.5/10 – De Ligt fancied a goal and he should’ve scored with a header from close range. His long-range effort was a tad optimistic, however. The Dutchman was rarely tested at the other end.
Giorgio Chiellini (CB) – 7/10 – Chiellini didn’t find himself quite as advanced as his partner at times, but he produced a sturdy performance in defence. Genoa’s strike pairing offered the tamest of threats and the Italian had time to share a moment with Andriy Shevchenko in the closing stages. Class.
Luca Pellegrini (LB) – 7/10 – Who doesn’t love this guy? He’s a breath of fresh air down Juventus’ left. Pellegrini plays without fear and his first-half performance was full of exuberance. Unfortunately, 45 minutes was all we saw of him as Alex Sandro was introduced at the break.