Juventus player ratings vs Torino: de Ligt goes from zero to hero

LB: Mattia De Sciglio 6/10

I was absolutely shocked when I saw Mattia De Sciglio’s name in the starting lineup after missing the last 2 months because of an injury. I assumed Juve would at least let him appear as a sub a couple of times before throwing him right back into the lineup. He looked extremely rusty at the start of the match, getting burned down the wing and misplacing passes, including one that I’m still not even sure where he was trying to pass it. He was better in the second half, but that 1st half was really brutal. I’m sure this was mostly just because he is nowhere close to his usual form and that’s what makes this decision by Sarri so baffling.

CB: Matthijs de Ligt 8.5/10

What’s the best way to make people forget about a tough start to your Juventus career? For Matthijs de Ligt, it was a standout performance against crosstown rival, Torino. It would have been enough for him to have a good performance after struggling recently on that end, but instead, he decided to take things a step further. He scored the winning goal to keep Juventus ahead of Inter Milan at the top of the Serie A table. A moment like that will earn you a lot of good will from the fans. Hopefully this big moment will give him the confidence that has seemed to be missing lately. Scoring a match winner against your new team’s rival to open your account with the team is certainly one way to get that confidence back and get you back in the good graces of fans.

CB: Leonardo Bonucci 7/10

Juve’s attack might not have been particularly impressive in this match, but the middle of their defense was. Even with Juve allowing Torino to spend way too much time in their half early in the match, there never seemed to be any real danger of Torino scoring. Bonucci continues to play at a high level and if de Ligt’s performance in this match is an indication that he’s turning things around, then this could be a formidable defense once again.

RB: Juan Cuadrado 7.5/10

At this point, I’m convinced that Juan Cuadrado has claimed the starting right back spot for good. Against Torino, he continued to play well in his new position, helping keep Torino from opening the scoring when they were outplaying Juve in the first half. He wasn’t great on the attacking end (and to be fair, nobody on Juve really was), but he had some good moments. Overall, it was another good performance for Cuadrado and he should remain in this spot even with De Sciglio and Danilo back.