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Juventus player ratings vs Torino: Simone Zaza gives Juve an early Christmas gift

By John Vaccaro

TURIN, ITALY - 2018/12/06: Simone Zaza of Torino FC reacts during the Coppa Italia football match between Torino FC and FC Sudtirol. Torino FC won 2-0 over FC Sudtirol. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY - 2018/12/06: Simone Zaza of Torino FC reacts during the Coppa Italia football match between Torino FC and FC Sudtirol. Torino FC won 2-0 over FC Sudtirol. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images) /
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Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus FC) scores the penalty of the victory during the Serie A football match between Torino FC and Juventus FC at Olympic Grande Torino Stadium on December 15, 2018 in Turin, Italy. Torino lost 0-1 against Juventus. (Photo by Massimiliano Ferraro/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus FC) scores the penalty of the victory during the Serie A football match between Torino FC and Juventus FC at Olympic Grande Torino Stadium on December 15, 2018 in Turin, Italy. Torino lost 0-1 against Juventus. (Photo by Massimiliano Ferraro/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /

LW: Cristiano Ronaldo 7/10

Cristiano Ronaldo managed to get himself back on the scoresheet in this one, scoring Juve’s 5000th Serie A goal. The penalty kick goal also once again tied him for the lead league with 11, but it wasn’t a very good penalty. Torino’s keeper had a very good chance at saving and seemed very disappointed in himself for not being able to push it past the post with the touch he got on the ball. Outside of that it was another in a string of disappointing performances for Ronaldo and it looks like he may be in need of that rest Massimiliano Allegri has been talking about. He also may have cost Juve a goal with an offside for the second consecutive match. Lastly, his celebration after barely scoring a penalty was completely unnecessary. Juve will need him to return to his best against Roma and then will likely rest him in the following match.

ST: Mario Mandzukic 7.5/10

This rating for Mario Mandzukic is due in part to the goal he scored that was disallowed because of Ronaldo and his overall effort. The squad as a whole looked sluggish throughout the match, but even with fatigue seemingly setting in Mandzukic was all over the place in this match. He played on the wing, he played as a striker, he even played some defense. His hustle also got him to Zaza’s poor back pass and won Juventus the penalty. It’s not exactly the type of performance that will go down in history, but it’s another workmanlike effort from Mandzukic.

RW: Paulo Dybala 6/10

Here comes my weekly Paulo Dybala rant. PAULO DYBALA ISN’T A RIGHT WING! He has shown it over and over again this season and didn’t do anything to make us forget that fact against Torino. Dybala was mostly a nonreactor in this match. He didn’t set his teammates up for anything dangerous. He didn’t create his own openings to influence the game. Juventus did have somebody available who could have done both of those thing, has shown a knack for finding openings during his time with Juventus, and is actually a right wing. Unfortunately, Douglas Costa never made an appearance in this match. It’s time to start looking at other options here because Dybala just isn’t getting it done in the big matches. Costa should be the one starting on the wing when Juve plays Roma next week.

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