Juventus player ratings vs Sassuolo: Cristiano Ronaldo ends drought with a brace

LW: Cristiano Ronaldo 9.5/10

The moment Juventus fans waited weeks to see finally came against Sassuolo. Cristiano Ronaldo pounced on a Sassuolo mistake in the 50th minute to score his first goal with Juventus. He then added another 15 minutes later with a clinical finish on a breakaway. Ronaldo was Juve’s most dangerous player again in this match. It was important for him to get this out-of-the-way as soon as possible. Now Ronaldo can head into the match on Wednesday without everybody focusing on his scoring drought.

ST: Mario Mandzukic 6.5/10

Mario Mandzukic had his usual ridiculous work rate against Sassuolo, but it unfortunately didn’t lead to anything. He rarely touched the ball during his 60 minutes on the field, only managing one shot and attempting 16 passes. It certainly wasn’t his best performance of the year, but everybody has an off day every once in a while. He’s still in no danger of a benching.

RW: Paulo Dybala 6.5/10

Speaking of players in danger of heading to the bench, next up is Paulo Dybala. He has been incredibly disappointing for Juve this year and has already been benched for 2 matches. He once again failed to make an impact for Juventus and is getting closer and closer to an exit from Juventus. This performance wasn’t entirely his fault as he was played out of position (I’ll get to that in a second), but it was still a disappointing match for him. The formation change to the 4-3-3 appears to be permanent and that’s not good for Dybala. He doesn’t fit the formation and is in danger of remaining in poor form. This performance could keep him out of the Champions League match, which doesn’t bode well for his Juve future.