Juventus, once again, won a game they had no business winning as Moise Kean struck late on to sink Sassuolo in Serie A on Monday night.
The Bianconeri were sub-par and second-best for large swathes of the contest, as Juve transfer target Giacomo Raspadori gave the hosts a deserved lead in the first half.
Paulo Dybala swiftly restored parity for the visitors before half-time as the two sides went into the break all-square.
Sassuolo continued to probe after the break, but they couldn’t fashion the sort of chances they’d created in the opening period. Thus, they were vulnerable to more late Juventus magic and it was Kean who delivered the decisive blow with just a few minutes remaining.
The victory leaves Juve in an incredibly strong position to claim the final Champions League spot with their advantage over fifth-placed AS Roma stretching to eight points with just four games remaining. They’re now just a point adrift of Napoli in third following their collapse against Empoli on Sunday.
Here are the Juventus player ratings from Monday night’s win over Sassuolo.
Goalkeeper & Defenders
Wojciech Szczesny (GK) – 7/10 – He’ll be disappointed to have been beaten at his near post by Raspadori, but Szczesny was otherwise excellent. The Polish international made super stops to deny Domenico Berardi and Gianluca Scamacca in the first half.
Mattia De Sciglio (RB) – 5/10 – Far too passive when matched up against Hamed Traore, allowing the Sassuolo man to drift into the left half-spaced unchallenged. Was booked for his troubles, albeit unfairly, in the second period and was moved into a more advanced role to close the game out.
Leonardo Bonucci (CB) – 5/10 – Despite his proficiency with the ball, Bonucci was unable to solve Juve’s build-up issues. A lack of movement ahead meant he was often reduced to low percentage long balls. Beaten all ends up for Sassuolo’s goal, too.
Daniele Rugani (CB) – 5/10 – Wasn’t very active despite Sassuolo’s superiority while he was on the field. Replaced just after the 50th-minute mark having contributed little.
Alex Sandro (LB) – 5/10 – I couldn’t tell you what he contributed to this win.