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

Rodrigo Bentancur 6/10

Bentancur didn’t have much impact during his 20 minute appearance. I thought that he should’ve been given the chance to start this match, but that wasn’t in the cards. He was mostly a neutral for Juve in this match and will need to make more an impact in future appearances to carve out a role for this season.

Juan Cuadrado 6.5/10

Cuadrado only appeared for 14 minutes, but he was able to make a defensive contribution in that time. He didn’t have any attacking impact, his 3 interceptions helped Juve hold their lead late in the match. It wasn’t much, but he was a slight positive for the day.

Douglas Costa 7/10

The rating is based entirely on his performance before the red card. He was fantastic right until he went off the rails. He was dangerous his entire time on the field, causing Sassuolo major headaches for 30 minutes. The spitting was obviously unnecessary, but it didn’t have an impact on the match. His grade for the red card will be reflected in every match he misses because of his actions, especially if that includes the Champions League opener. He played well for 30 minutes, but really left fans with a bad final image for the day and it could haunt him for a few weeks now.

Manager: Massimiliano Allegri 7/10

Under normal circumstances I would be thrilled that Allegri decided to stick with the 4-3-3, but if there was ever a time not to use it, it was against Sassuolo. Juve only has 5 midfielders on the roster and started 3 of them 3 days before the Valencia match. It would be a major mistake if it leads to the 4-2-3-1 on Wednesday. Blaise Matuidi played 2 matches during the international break and should’ve been given a chance to rest. Daniele Rugani should’ve been given the start over Bonucci to give Rugani a chance to find his form and continue to develop. Paulo Dybala was wasted on the right wing. It’s not a position that suits him and it showed throughout the match. The two positives that redeemed Allegri were the fact that Juve got the win and starting Ronaldo i this match. Allegri could’ve been forgiven if he had rested Ronaldo against Sassuolo, but instead he gave Ronaldo the chance to end his scoring drought and now Juve’s most dangerous attacker will have renewed confidence for the rest of the season.

It was important to give Ronaldo a chance to change the narrative surrounding him and now Allegri heads into the Champions League with a team in great form.