Juventus faltered once again in their pursuit of the top four in Serie A as they were held to a 1-1 draw by the newly-promoted Venezia.
The Bianconeri barely got out of second gear in the first half but they nonetheless went into the break with a 1-0 lead thanks to a smart Alvaro Morata finish. They were swiftly pegged back after the restart, however, as Mattia Aramu scored from distance for the hosts.
Juve had to go through the gears against a well-coached Venezia, but chances came at a premium after Federico Bernardeschi was superbly denied by Sergio Romero. Thus, the visitors were forced to settle for a frustrating point, but it was all they deserved.
Here are the Juventus player ratings from the 1-1 draw with Venezia.
Goalkeeper & Defenders
Wojciech Szczesny (GK) – 5/10 – Szczesny got a hand on Aramu’s strike from distance but couldn’t keep it out. He might be disappointed with his effort, but it was a great strike. He wasn’t tested too much otherwise.
Mattia De Sciglio (RB) – 6/10 – A mixed bag for De Sciglio. The Italian started well from a defensive perspective and was a threat on the overlap at times. However, he had a couple of poor moments in every phase that undermined a sturdy display.
Leonardo Bonucci (CB) – 5/10 – Bonucci’s effort to block Aramu’s equaliser wasn’t exactly the bravest of attempts. There were a couple of occasions where Venezia penetrated in behind the veteran defender, with Bonucci struggling to deal with the odd in behind threat the hosts possessed. With the ball, he was limited to low percentage direct passes into the front men.
Matthijs de Ligt (CB) – 7/10 – De Ligt’s intervention to deny Dennis Johnsen from having a sight of goal in the first half was the defensive moment of the match. It was a brilliant piece of last-ditch defending. The Dutchman defended the box stoutly throughout.
Luca Pellegrini (LB) – 7/10 – Is Pellegrini really fun to watch, or is it that we’ve become so accustomed to watching Alex Sandro that any other left-back looks super impressive? I think it’s primarily the former with a hint of the latter. The Italian bagged the assist for Morata’s goal in another fine performance at both ends of the pitch. Pellegrini made a crucial intervention just after Venezia equalised to deny Thomas Henry from scoring the hosts’ second.