Federico Chiesa and Aaron Ramsey were on the scoresheet as Juventus bagged a comfortable 2-0 win over Sampdoria at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Saturday.
Juventus started the game on a bright note and were rewarded for it twenty minutes in when Federico Chiesa smashed home from close-range after some lovely interplay between Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo. The visitors continued to push forward but were unable to add to their tally while Sampdoria hardly posed a great danger in attack in the first half.
There was very little goalmouth action after the break with neither team creating a lot of opportunities. Sampdoria did put in a few dangerous crosses which were comfortably dealt with by Juve before substitute Aaron Ramsey made it 2-0 in the Bianconeri’s favour early in the stoppage time to seal the win with a simple tap-in after a speedy counter.
The victory meant Andrea Pirlo’s men moved into the third spot in the table, although they still remain seven points behind leaders AC Milan, who beat Bologna earlier on Saturday. Here’s how we rated the performances of the Juventus stars on the evening in Liguria.
Wojciech Szczesny: 6/10
Hardly tested on the evening by the home team and as a result, Szczesny had little to do apart from collecting a couple of long balls. Tidy with his distribution from the back, misplacing just two of his 28 passes.
Juan Cuadrado: 7/10
Another impressive performance from the Colombian on the right flank. Offered an outlet all through the game and got the assist for Ramsey’s late goal – his 11th of the season. Solid in the defensive side of things, making two interceptions and clearances each. Impressive.
Leonardo Bonucci: 7/10
A rock-solid presence at the back for Juventus, with Bonucci hardly putting a foot wrong against Sampdoria. Was alert to any potential threat as he made a game-high four interceptions and two tackles while aiding the build-up with his precise distribution from the back.
Giorgio Chiellini: 8/10
Il Capitano @Chiellini's appreciation tweet. What an amazing performance. Grande ? pic.twitter.com/2JbmsPbMGC
— Forza Juventus (@ForzaJuveEN) January 30, 2021
Having endured an injury-riddled campaign thus far, the Juventus captain put in one of his finest performances of the season. Swept up everything that came his way with ease and hardly allowed Fabio Quagliarella a sniff at the goal, making a crucial block to deny him a scoring opportunity in the second half. Dealt with Sampdoria’s crosses into the box with comfort as well, making a game-high six clearances and misplaced just five of his 56 passes.
Danilo: 7/10
A solid display on the left side from the Brazilian, who kept things tight down his end, making three interceptions and two clearances. Much like the rest of his defensive partners, was pinpoint with his distribution, helping Juventus maintain control on the proceedings.
Weston McKennie: 7/10
Another hard-working performance on the right flank from the USMNT international, who put in the hard yards off the ball, making a game-high six tackles and four interceptions. Did his bit in the offensive phases as well, playing in two key passes, although he could have done better with a half-chance early in the game when he could not get the ball under his spell.
Unsurprisingly, Weston McKennie with another excellent showing today for Juventus.
Completed a game high 5 tackles, won a combined 10 ground + aerial duels, and made 4 interceptions, all while completing 91% of his passes.
Has been an absolute joy to watch ⭐️?? pic.twitter.com/Xf4BItxQKC
— Future USMNT (@FutureUsmnt) January 30, 2021
Arthur Melo: 6.5/10
Having endured a slow start to life at Juventus, the Brazilian is slowly starting to come good and show signs of the quality he possesses. Always forward-thinking when on the ball, Arthur made three dribbles and made one key pass while also misplacing just three of his 84 attempted passes on the evening. May not have had a decisive impact on the proceedings, but it was still a positive display.
Rodrigo Bentancur: 6/10
Assured in the middle of the park as he went about his defensive duties without much of a fuss, making four tackles, two clearances and an interception. Showed much more intent than usual with his passing as well. Picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the first half and there was one dangerous moment in the second half when Albin Ekdal stole the ball from him, which caused a few jitters.
Federico Chiesa: 7.5/10
A constant menace down the left flank with his movement and tireless running, the Italian international got himself into good positions constantly and opened the scoring from one such move early in the game. Fired another effort wide in the second period. Completed three key passes on the evening and is really turning out to be a crucial addition to this Juventus side.
Federico Chiesa scores the opener for Juventus against Sampdoria ️⚽️#SampJuve pic.twitter.com/x6vjFxXLMW
— Goal (@goal) January 30, 2021
Alvaro Morata: 6.5/10
Beautiful assist to set Chiesa up for the opening goal. Not a great deal of involvement in the danger areas from that point on but worked hard off the ball and had a goal chalked off for offside in the second period.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 6/10
Involved in the build-up to Chiesa’s goal in the first half and had an effort from distance saved by the Sampdoria goalkeeper. Denied another opportunity by some vigilant defending by Maya Yoshida. A quiet outing apart from those few moments of spark for the Portuguese maverick.
SUBSTITUTES
Adrien Rabiot: N/A
Sent on for Bentancur for the last fifteen minutes.
Federico Bernardeschi: N/A
Came on for Morata with a little over ten minutes left.
Aaron Ramsey: N/A
Aaron Ramsey has been directly involved in five goals in the league this season (2G 3A), more than last season (4). #JFC pic.twitter.com/tSeVNwdmMh
— Max Statman (@eMaxStatman) January 30, 2021
Replaced Arthur with less than ten minutes. Added the second goal in stoppage time.
Alex Sandro: N/A
On for Chiesa in the 84th minute.
