Dusan Vlahovic was the standout player as Juventus and AS Roma held each other to a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Stadium.
Juventus and AS Roma played out a thrilling 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena, sharing the spoils in their Serie A fixture.
The home side started the game off well thanks to Dusan Vlahovic. The Serb’s freekick in the second minute left Rui Patricio rooted to the spot, handing Massimiliano Allegri’s men an early lead. Juventus were the dominant side in the first half and had plenty of opportunities to add to their tally but failed to take them.
Roma started the game slowly and were the second best in the first 45 minutes. Jose Mourinho’s half-time team talk coupled with a series of substitutions saw I Giallorossi mount a fight back. The visitors steadily improved as the game went on and equalised in the 69th minute, thanks to Tammy Abraham.
The architect of Roma’s equaliser was none other than former Juventus man Paulo Dybala, who set up the strike with a spectacular scissor kick assist. The Argentine returned to Turin to bite the hand that once fed him.
Allegri and Mourinho have enjoyed better battles in their heyday as they continued to cancel each other out tactically for the rest of the game. Both clubs remain unbeaten, with Roma third and Juventus sixth on the Serie A table. With Inter Milan losing, all eyes will be on Napoli and AC Milan, as they set the pace in this season’s race for the Scudetto. The Hard Tackle looks at how the Juventus players fared on the night.
Wojciech Szczesny: 6/10
The Polish international returned after an injury-enforced absence and enjoyed a rather pleasant first hour back. Juventus dominated proceedings, leaving Szczesny with little to do for the majority of the game. He was alert to deny Abraham after the hour mark and should have done better to prevent the Englishman from beating him in the 69th minute. Juventus could have benefitted from Mattia Perin’s aggressive approach on the night.
Can we talk about how bang average Szczesny was? How many times do we have to watch him plant his feet on the goal and wait to get dunked on?
— Nick (@StileAllegri) August 27, 2022
Mattia De Sciglio: 6/10
The Italian full-back had Leonardo Spinnazzola in his pocket and kept the Roma man quiet in the first half, prompting Mourinho to take him off at half-time. De Sciglio, however, failed to repeat the dominant performance in the second half and was erratic with his crossing while bombing forward. The Juventus man put in a decent shift, but it was nothing to write home about.
Gleison Bremer: 6.5/10
The summer signing continued his fine vein of form, holding his own against Abraham at the back. The home side’s defence looked impregnable in the first 45 minutes, and the Brazilian will be frustrated to have conceded a goal in the second half.
Danilo: 7/10
The Brazilian replaced Daniele Rugani at the heart of the Juventus defence and justified Allegri’s faith in him with an impressive performance. Danilo was not just assertive but made decisive decisions that largely snuffed out AS Roma’s attacks. He made several key interceptions and was available to bring the ball out from the back to kick-start attacks.
Alex Sandro: 6/10
The left-back was in no way poor, but his drop-off in performance over the course of a game should worry Allegri. He largely kept Dybala quiet before the Argentine’s moment of magic crafted the opportunity for Abraham’s equaliser. Sandro offered little going forward
Manuel Locatelli: 7/10
The Italian international started the game on the front foot and helped Juventus gain early control of the pace. He picked up a yellow card for a cynical foul on Dybala before unleashing a rocket that left Patricio stranded. Unfortunately for him, VAR ruled the goal out as Vlahovic was adjudged to have handled the ball in the buildup. A much-improved performance from a player who struggled away to Sampdoria last weekend.
CONTROVERSY ?
Manuel Locatelli produced a beautiful first-time effort to score but after consulting VAR the referee cancelled the goal due to a handball from Vlahovic ❌ pic.twitter.com/ffjOhUJQiz
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 27, 2022
Adrien Rabiot: 6/10
The Frenchman looked to be in fine nick and was assertive in midfield. Decisive in his passing and ambitious going forward, Rabiot looked much more confident than he has been in recent months and caused Bryan Cristante several issues. Unfortunately, he did not last the night and made way for Denis Zakaria in the 58th minute with what appears to be a muscle injury.
Juan Cuadrado: 6.5/10
The Colombian was a lively presence down the right and caused the Roma defence several problems. He saw an assist chalked off for Locatelli’s strike in the 18th minute and also squandered several opportunities to add his name to the scoresheet. Cuadrado’s influence waned as the match went on, and had he shown more composure, Juventus might have walked away with all three points.
Fabio Miretti: 7/10
It was another promising performance from the youngster, who showed off his impressive passing range and vision. He crafted enough opportunities for Juventus’s attackers and kept the ball ticking. A bright spark, the young Italian could develop into a reliable playmaker at the heart of the Juventus midfield.
? Max Allegri: “Miretti played like a veteran. There are few players who play between the lines like him." [DAZN via @Elvin_DF] #Juventus pic.twitter.com/eaCcSKxUbd
— Italian Football News ?? (@footitalia1) August 27, 2022
Filip Kostic: 6.5/10
An all-action performance from the Serb who has taken well to life in Turin. Not only was he agile going forward, but he also dropped back when needed to help Sandro handle Rick Karsdorp. Kostic is yet to hit his groove completely but is steadily establishing himself as a reliable player in Allegri’s system. He also picked up a yellow card for giving the officials a piece of his mind.
Dusan Vlahovic: 7.5/10
Vlahovic was Juventus’s standout player and scored with his first touch. The thunderous strike left Patricio with no chance and also handed the Serbian striker his fastest goal in Serie A. He also handled the ball in the build-up to Locatelli’s 18th-minute strike and saw the attempt chalked off by VAR. While it was far from his best night out, Vlahovic deserves credit for giving the Roma defence enough to deal with on his own.
1:16 – Dusan Vlahovic scored after 1 minute and 16 seconds, his fastest #SerieA goal – the goal came with his first touch of the match. Flash.#JuveRoma pic.twitter.com/kaDT8KxxG8
— OptaPaolo ? (@OptaPaolo) August 27, 2022
SUBSTITUTES
Denis Zakaria: 5/10
The Swiss midfielder replaced the injured Rabiot before the hour mark. It was not his finest cameo as Zakaria failed to match Rabiot’s movement and distribution on the night. If anything, his arrival handed Roma the edge in midfield.
Arkadiusz Milik: 6/10
The summer signing made his debut on the night by coming on for Miretti in the 77th minute. He did not see much of the ball, though, and was unable to influence proceedings.
Weston McKennie: 5/10
The American international replaced a tiring Cuadrado in the 77th minute but saw little action.
Nicolo Rovella: N/A
The youngster replaced Locatelli in the 86th minute but had little opportunity to influence the game.
Moise Kean: N/A
The youngster came on for Vlahovic in the 86th minute but did little of note.
