Juventus player ratings vs Sampdoria: When did Ronaldo join the NBA?

CM: Adrien Rabiot 7/10

We are finally starting to see Adrien Rabiot play at the level Juve expected when they brought him in this summer. He has started to look a lot more comfortable in the midfield during his last few starts and in this one he even managed to complete 100% of his passes.

That is especially impressive when you consider how sloppily Juve passed the ball early in this match and how sloppily they have played over the last couple of months. Juventus has quickly gone from starting the abysmal Sami Khedira to having multiple strong options for this position, even with Aaron Ramsey remaining out of the starting lineup. Rabiot and Rodrigo Bentancur should give fans hope that this midfield is only going to get better throughout this season.

CM: Miralem Pjanic 6/10

Miralem Pjanic wasn’t able to accomplish much in his return to Juve’s starting lineup. Both of Juve’s goals were created on the wing by Alex Sandro and none of their other chances came from the midfield either. He did play a big part in Juve’s ability to spend most of this match in possession of the ball. I’m sure we’ll see more out of Pjanic as the new build of Juve’s front 6 continues to develop.

CM: Blaise Matuidi 6/10

I’m sure you’ll be shocked to hear that Blaise Matuidi’s performance was underwhelming in yet another match. He offered nothing to the attack and may have even taken a goal away from Cristiano Ronaldo when he whiffed on a header and sent a ball over the crossbar with his shoulder.

He was fine on the defensive end, but Juve was so dominant in possession that they didn’t really need much defensive contribution in this match. With the level that Bentancur and Rabiot are currently playing at, it may only be a matter of time before we see Blaise Matuidi sent to the bench.