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Juventus player ratings vs Chievo Verona: Ronaldo scoreless, Bernardeschi flawless

By John Vaccaro

VERONA, ITALY - AUGUST 18: Federico Bernardeschi #33 of Juventus celebrates his goal with his team-mates Emre Can (R) and Giorgio Chiellini (up) during the serie A match between Chievo Verona and Juventus at Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi on August 18, 2018 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
VERONA, ITALY - AUGUST 18: Federico Bernardeschi #33 of Juventus celebrates his goal with his team-mates Emre Can (R) and Giorgio Chiellini (up) during the serie A match between Chievo Verona and Juventus at Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi on August 18, 2018 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) /
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STADIO MARCANTONIO BENTEGODI, VERONA, ITALY – 2018/08/18: Cristiano Ronaldo (L) of Juventus FC celebrates the victory at the end of the the Serie A football match between AC ChievoVerona and Juventus FC. Juventus FC won 3-2 over AC ChievoVerona. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
STADIO MARCANTONIO BENTEGODI, VERONA, ITALY – 2018/08/18: Cristiano Ronaldo (L) of Juventus FC celebrates the victory at the end of the the Serie A football match between AC ChievoVerona and Juventus FC. Juventus FC won 3-2 over AC ChievoVerona. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images) /

Juventus will be glad to head home with a win in their season opener.

Juventus fell into a lull during today’s game that we have seen many times in recent years. They completely dominated possession, controlling 80% in the first half and 73% for the game. However, they were unable to turn into scoring opportunities for much of the game.

Juve didn’t really look threatening at all from open play for most of the game. Their first goal was the result of a beautiful free kick delivery from Miralem Pjanic, followed by Giorgio Chiellini’s header that knocked the ball down to Sami Khedira. The second came as the result of a perfect corner from Federico Bernardeschi that resulted in an own goal from Mattia Bani.

It wasn’t until Juventus was desperate to score that they really turned up the heat. Late on Ronaldo had a curling effort denied by a nice save from Stefano Sorrentino, Mandzukic had a goal disallowed because of a foul that knocked Sorrentino out cold, and Juve finally created a goal from open play when Bernardeschi turned Alex Sandro’s cross into the net.

They created more chances in that last 20 minutes than in the first 75. Juve will need to start creating chances earlier in the game because looked very vulnerable defensively today.

The defensive showing today showcased an issue I’ve had with Juve since last season. Playing a 4-2-3-1 instead of a formation with a 3-man midfield leaves Juve vulnerable at the back. With Pjanic, Khedira, Sandro, and Cancelo all roaming forward when Juve is attacking there is no cover for Chiellini and Bonucci. It leaves Juve too open to the counter and if Chievo can take advantage

Juve got the win, but it wasn’t nearly as clear cut as fans would hope. The team’s performance will likely be viewed as disappointing, but how did the players look?

GK: Wojciech Szczesny 5/10

Wojciech Szczesny’s contribution to the game today basically came to his presence. He was there. He faced two shots on goal and they both scored. He lost the penalty guessing game on one and looked like he got his feet mixed up on the second. I’m not sure he could’ve done anything to stop the goal anyway. All in all, two shots that should’ve scored did and no saves were made. Szczesny was the definition of average today.

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