Juventus player ratings vs Manchester United: Dybala delivers dominant win
By John Vaccaro
LW: Cristiano Ronaldo 7/10
Strangely enough this might have been Ronaldo’s “worst” match for Juventus (disregarding the nonsense against Valencia). He only managed 2 shots on target and 3 shots overall, both season lows for him in matches where he played more than 29 minutes. He also had less touches than everybody on the team except for Szczesny. He did however play a role in Juve’s goal against United. Other than that he just wasn’t all that involved in the match for Juve. He’ll be happy to leave Old Trafford with the win, but he’ll certainly be hoping to do more when these teams meet again.
ST: Paulo Dybala 7.5/10
Coming into this match I was worried that Dybala would be forced into the right wing position as Massimiliano Allegri has done so many times this season. Then it was announced that Mario Mandzukic would miss the match and suddenly the possibility of Dybala his more natural role in a strike partnership opened up. Instead Allegri decided to force him to play as Juve’s lone striker in a 4-3-3, a role which we learned last year doesn’t particularly suit him. Yes, he scored in the match. However, he didn’t really do much else throughout the match. He didn’t register a key pass, send in an accurate cross, or even put another shot on target. Even as the winning goalscorer in this match he still didn’t closely resemble the player that had looked spectacular for the last two seasons. Dybala scoring again was a step in the right direction, but it still looks like he just doesn’t quite fit anymore.
RW: Juan Cuadrado 7.5/10
I didn’t think Cuadrado should’ve started this match, but it ended up being one of his best performances of the season. Cuadrado was able to take advantage of the space available on the right wing to be a threat throughout the match. He passed the ball well in the match and avoided his usual mental lapses. He also assisted the winning goal. With Cuadrado seeming to get into top form, Juventus suddenly has three players making a strong case to start on the right wing (4 if Dybala counts, but he really shouldn’t).