Juventus took the Coppa Italia for the third year in a row, but who made the difference in the Final with Lazio? Football Italia rates the players.
Words: Tom Scholes
Juventus
Neto: 7
Some may criticise Neto for his previous performances, but at times tonight he was superb. His incredible reaction saves from Immobile and Felipe Anderson kept Juve 2-0 up in the second half.
Dani Alves: 8 (Man of the Match)
Juventus took the Coppa Italia for the third year in a row, but who made the difference in the Final with Lazio? Football Italia rates the players.
Words: Tom Scholes
Juventus
Neto: 7
Some may criticise Neto for his previous performances, but at times tonight he was superb. His incredible reaction saves from Immobile and Felipe Anderson kept Juve 2-0 up in the second half.
Dani Alves: 8 (Man of the Match)
Yet another fantastic performance from the Brazilian, whose opening goal set Juve on their way tonight. His bursts forward essentially made him a right-winger at times, and he was probably Juve’s key man all night. His volley was what the side needed to set them on their way to success. It’s hard to think why Barcelona let him go, but it’s Juve’s gain!
Giorgio Chiellini: 7
Every week it seems to be the same thing about Chiellini, and that is that he’s always reliable at the back. He wasn’t spectacular, he wasn’t flashy, but he did what was needed from him. He cleared every ball, headed away every cross and even made the short burst forward on the ball. He did everything that was asked of him.
Leonardo Bonucci: 8
Bonucci does have a habit of popping up with the odd goal every now and then, and he did just that tonight, scoring the important second. Much like Chiellini, he was a rock at the back and dealt with whatever came his way. He defended with class and his goal was testament to his performance tonight, topping off another great season.
Andrea Barzagli: 7
Coming up against Keita Balde Diao looked like it could have been a challenge for Barzagli tonight, but he dealt with the Senegal striker’s pace with ease. In a foot race, there is only one winner. Keita could have had Barzagli on toast, but the veteran defender’s intelligence kicked in and he managed to contain the winger all night.
Alex Sandro: 8
Are Alex Sandro and Dani Alves the best full-back pairing in the world? Tonight showed why the two are so highly rated, with the first goal being made between the duo. Sandro’s sensational deep cross to the back post picked Alves out and the latter did the rest, but all night Sandro was constantly up and down the left-hand side. The Brazilian was vital tonight, providing two assists, and showed why so many people feel his is the best left-back in the world.
Tomas Rincon: 6
With Miralem Pjanic and Sami Khedira unavailable, Rincon was drafted in to hold the midfield line and play as an anchor to allow the full-backs to bomb forward and let Claudio Marchisio dictate play. Nothing special, but he did his job.
Claudio Marchisio: 7
Due to Rincon holding the line, Marchisio was allowed to be the ball carrier and essentially play the Pjanic role tonight. He started attacks and his wide array of passing set Juve up on forward drives on multiple times. It doesn’t seem like Marchisio does much during a game, but his impact in a side is huge.
Paulo Dybala: 7
Once again, Dybala’s pace and trickery was key for the Bianconeri tonight. He may not be on the score sheet, but he added that something extra in the final third and always looked like he was prepared to take defenders on. Dybala has a habit of drifting out wide at times and roaming towards the middle, and this makes him almost impossible to mark and pin down at times.
Mario Mandzukic: 7
Again, Mandzukic’s hard work is what set him apart at times tonight, with his industrious style pushing Juve hard at times. He may not be the most elegant of players, but he never gives up and is always an asset to have in any side. You can always count him to get on the end of some chances, or like tonight where he was more creative than anything.
Gonzalo Higuain: 7
Higuain failed to score tonight, but his hold-up play was essential for bringing others into attacks. He had a few chances to really make the score look emphatic, and whilst some may judge him on his misses, it’s better to look at his build-up play to judge him tonight.
Subs:
Mario Lemina: N/A
Lazio
Thomas Strakosha: 7
If it wasn’t for Strakosha tonight, Lazio would have been battered. He made some incredible saves at times in the first half and really kept Lazio in with a fighting chance. Without him, Lazio would have been done in the opening half-hour, but Strakosha was fantastic during the 90 minutes.
Wallace: 6
Playing in a back three, Wallace wasn’t outstanding, but at times he did well. He let Dani Alves slip in at the back post for the opener, but apart from that he was relatively solid throughout. He’d be disappointed for the first goal, but overall he didn’t make many mistakes.
Stefan de Vrij: 6
The highly-rated Dutchman wasn’t bad tonight, but he wasn’t outstanding either. At times he was caught out by Dybala’s pace, but apart from that he was good in the heart of the back three. Went off injured.
Bastos: 5
Subbed off just before the hour mark, Bastos was average tonight. There wasn’t much he could have done to stop the two goals, and he was okay in the back three. Nothing more of note on Bastos, but this game shouldn’t paint a picture over his whole season.
Senad Lulic: 4.5
The full-back wasn’t really able to do much damage on his flank, mainly due to the constant threat of Dani Alves coming at him in almost every Juve attack. He had a bit of a nightmare in defence, losing his man for the opening goal and even nutmegged by Dani Alves at one stage.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic: 6
The Serbian gave a good account himself as he tried to kick-start attacks, but he just couldn’t do much against a rigid Juve side. He tried to drive from midfield, but due to the deep-lying defence of Juventus and some special attention from Rincon, he wasn’t that effective.
Lucas Biglia: 6
A deeper lying midfielder in the pair this evening, Biglia was seemingly always chasing back. He would sit back and let Milinkovic-Savic run forward, trying to stop attacks, but he just couldn’t do it to the level that was needed.
Marco Parolo: N/A
After just about passing a late fitness test, Marco Parolo didn’t last too long in the game. Subbed after just 21 minutes, you could tell he wasn’t in good shape.
Dusan Basta: 6
Basta tried to create moves for the forwards from the wing-back position and he had some success, with his runs allowing him to get a few crosses in, but unfortunately for Lazio, a lot of them had failed to reach Immobile in the middle. Basta certainly did better than his fellow full-back Lulic, but that’s not really saying much.
Keita Balde Diao: 6
It all started to so well for Keita, with his blistering pace setting him free within the first five minutes, striking the post and nearly opening the scoring, but apart from that he was absent. It was a mix of being marked out of the game and having little to no service, but Keita’s fast start was soon forgotten about.
Ciro Immobile: 5
Immobile attempted to get into good positions and really did try to get onto the scoresheet, but ultimately he didn’t have the service to score. His downwards header towards goal would have gone in had it not been for the incredible reflexes of Neto, but that was about as good as it got for Immobile tonight.
Subs:
Stefan Radu: 5
Coming into the game after just 21 minutes, Radu was largely ineffective for Lazio. Over-run at times, Radu was nothing to the game. Then again, it must have been tough to be thrown into the deep end in such a big match.
Felipe Anderson: 5.5
Brought on for Bastos just before the hour mark, Felipe Anderson tried to be the spark that Simone Inzaghi’s side needed, but apart from a low drive that stung the fingertips of Neto, he didn’t do all that much. He tried to break free of his marker and did try to get crosses in, however his balls into the back never seemed to beat the last man.
Luis Alberto: N/A