Juventus kept up their recent good form going to narrowly beat AS Roma in a clutch encounter at the Allianz Stadium, with Moise Kean’s strike settling the tie.
Juventus climbed up to seventh on the Serie A table courtesy of their crunch win over AS Roma at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. Moise Kean scored the game’s only goal in the first half, as the Bianconeri’s defence put in a great shift to keep Jose Mourinho’s side from getting an equaliser.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side took the lead against the run of play as Roma set out dominating proceedings early on. Mattia De Sciglio’s brilliant cross was met by Rodrigo Bentacur, who headed in with a deflection through Moise Kean to give Juventus the lead.
Roma attacked well for periods, as Juventus had Szczesny to thank. The Polish goalkeeper then brought down Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the box after a frenzy few moments in the area. The referee awarded the visitors the penalty, and Szczesny made instant amends by saving Jordan Veretout’s spot-kick.
Roma went the rest of the game trying to find a breakthrough, but a combination of multiple blocks and some good in defence prevented any such moments for the visitors. Juventus were happy to sit deep and find an opportunity to launch a counter.
In the end, Massimiliano Allegri maintained his record against Jose Mourinho as his side continued their recent good form and climbed up in the rankings. Here’s how the players fared as Juventus secured a narrow victory over rivals Roma.
Juventus
Wojciech Szczesny: 7/10
The Pole started the game brightly to deny Abraham in the early stages. Then when the pressure was building in the Juventus penalty area, he conceded a crucial penalty and made amends by saving Veretout’s effort from 12-yards.
Danilo: 6/10
The Brazilian proved to be a reliable presence at the back as his defensive partner on the left, Leonardo Bonucci, thoroughly struggled to contain the threat posed by Roma’s attackers.
Leonardo Bonucci: 5/10
The usually composed and strong Bonucci was given a hard time by Tammy Abraham and Nicolo Zaniolo on his side. The former Chelsea striker produced some good moments in the game at the expense of the experienced Italian, but luckily there was Danilo to bail him out at times.
Giorgio Chiellini: 7/10
The Italian veteran was at his best against Roma despite doubts over his participation in this clash earlier. He made some crucial blocks to deny Roma a possible equaliser while being alert at all times to sniff out any trouble.
Mattia De Sciglio: 7/10
De Sciglio provided an attacking threat on his side and was a constant menace for Roma’s defence. His cross resulted in the only goal of the game—a very reliable performance from the fullback.
Juan Cuadrado: 5/10
Was the Colombian the weak link in this Juve side? Roma attackers constantly targeted his side of the pitch and put Cuadrado under tremendous pressure. He did have a few moments, like the switch he made to De Sciglio, which resulted in the goal and otherwise decent.
Rodrigo Bentancur: 6.5/10
The Uruguayan tried to make things happen from his midfield position. He made efforts to send balls through the line but couldn’t quite make an impact in the final third with it. He was the highest to rise when De Sciglio delivered his cross and got a rather lucky assist for Kean’s goal.
Manuel Locatelli: 5.5/10
Got on with the game well and never gave up control of his midfield. Otherwise ineffective with his effort to contribute in the final third.
Federico Bernardeschi: 6/10
The wide attacking midfield was constantly targeted by Roma’s attackers, as seen with Cuadrado. As for Bernardeschi, he escaped serious problems on the side and tried creating chances with some intricate passing moves.
Federico Chiesa: 3.5/10
A surprisingly dull game for the star attacker, who failed to get involved with any intent. Found it tough going against Roma’s defenders as he had close to no impact whatsoever.
Moise Kean: 7/10
Kean’s goal secured three points for Juventus, but the Italian produced some good centre-forward play. Did well to cover for the absence of Morata and Dybala well. He could give those striking duo some competition for the place.
SUBSTITUTES
Dejan Kulusevski: 5/10
Kulusevski replaced the ineffective Chiesa as Juventus sat deep and required someone to come in and protect wide areas and provide an attacking threat.
Alvaro Morata: 5/10
Morata came on to freshen up the frontline and replace goalscorer Kean.
Arthur: 6/10
The Brazilian replaced Bernardeschi on the left side to provide some much-needed grit from midfield as Juventus looked to protect their lead at all costs.
Alex Sandro: N/A
Sandro replaced De Sciglio pretty late in the game to see out the victory.
AS Roma
Rui Patricio: 5/10
If not for that goal, it would have been a good performance from the Portuguese. He came out of the game with criticism over his work rate on the Kean goal, which he could have prevented.
Rick Karsdorp: 5/10
Karsdorp constantly found it hard to fit into the game’s rhythm as he left his side exposed at all times. Mourinho was in his ear for most parts, which probably helped him perform better in the second period.
Gianluca Mancini: 6/10
Dealt with whatever Juventus had to throw on his side and was a great presence in the air. He couldn’t do much to prevent the goal. Mancini keeps growing into an integral player in this Roma set-up.
Roger Ibanez: 4/10
Ibanez was tasked with marking Kean in the box and let the striker easily beat him in the air for the goal. Terrible performance at that moment which turned the outcome of the match.
Matias Vina: 4/10
The culprit for allowing Bentancur to run in and get the cross in. could have done much more to prevent Kean any moment before the striker took control from Ibanez.
Bryan Cristante: 5.5/10
Kept things active in midfield as he ensured the ball remained under his control. A decent game for the central midfielder, as he would have been disappointed with the final result.
Jordan Veretout: 5/10
A high octane game for the midfielder who saw few efforts being blocked while missing the crucial penalty to put Roma level.
Lorenzo Pellegrini: 5/10
Roma’s most advanced midfielder, Pellegrini, did not have much joy in creating clear cut chances for his teammates. He would be disappointed with his display on the evening.
Nicolo Zaniolo: 5/10
As Zaniolo was getting into the game, his night was interrupted with an untimely knee injury.
Tammy Abraham: 6/10
A menace of an attacker as Abraham got the better of Bonucci. He had a few chances in the game while saw an effort blocked by Chiellini in the second period.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 5/10
A mixed bag performance from the experienced attacker, drifting in and out, without producing anything of importance.
SUBSTITUTES
Stephan El Shaarawy: 5/10
The winger came on to provide a different option from wide areas as Roma searched for an equaliser. Ended up having similar performance to Mkhitaryan.
Eldor Shomurodov: N/A
Shomurodov came in late to provide another option in attack. Largely ineffective to get a rating.
