Juventus maintained their perfect start to the season with a win over Fiorentina, but how did the Bianconeri fare in Football Italia's ratings?

Words: Gaby McKay

Wojciech Szczesny – 5

The Pole deputised for Gianluigi Buffon, but if he was hoping for a chance to impress this wasn’t it.

Had nothing to do against a Fiorentina side who didn’t muster a shot on target.

Stefano Sturaro – 5.5

Juventus maintained their perfect start to the season with a win over Fiorentina, but how did the Bianconeri fare in Football Italia's ratings?

Words: Gaby McKay

Wojciech Szczesny – 5

The Pole deputised for Gianluigi Buffon, but if he was hoping for a chance to impress this wasn’t it.

Had nothing to do against a Fiorentina side who didn’t muster a shot on target.

Stefano Sturaro – 5.5

With Stephan Lichtsteiner rested and Mattia De Sciglio injured, the midfielder deputised at right-back.

Never the most cultured player, he stuck to his task well but the fact he was nutmegged by Cristiano Biraghi suggests he may well have struggled more against a team with more attacking ambition.

Daniele Rugani – 5.5

A quiet night for the centre-back, but he was badly caught in possession in the first half in a move which could have opened up a chance for the Viola.

Rugani is a supremely talented defender, but he’ll need to cut those mistakes out of his game if he’s to become the future of the Bianconeri defence.

Andrea Barzagli – 6

The veteran dealt well with the threat of Giovanni Simeone, and was characteristically hard to beat one-on-one.

He’ll have more difficult nights, but the Italian international showed his continuing class.

Kwadwo Asamoah – 6

Kept his side of the pitch quiet, but his crossing was often poor. Worked well with the impressive Mario Mandzukic.

Rodrigo Bentancur – 7

An assured performance from the 20-year-old, Bentancur looks like the most natural replacement for Claudio Marchisio in the Juve squad.

Calm on the ball without looking to do anything spectacular, he showed impressive athleticism to go from box-to-box. It’s early days, but the Old Lady may have another gem on her hands.

Blaise Matuidi – 6.5

Matuidi brings a physicality to the Bianconeri midfield which was lacking last year, and broke forward impressively at times.

On one such occasion he thought he had won a penalty, but the VAR showed that Milan Badelj’s foul was outside the box.

Juan Cuadrado – 8

The Colombian can be a deeply frustrating player, but he was at his best tonight.

Set up the goal for Mandzukic, before seeing a fierce shot well saved by Marco Sportiello and the former Chelsea man was a threat all night.

Cuadrado’s crossing created numerous chances for Mandzukic and Gonzalo Higuain, and he absolutely justified his selection ahead of Douglas Costa.

Paulo Dybala – 6

Fiorentina Coach Stefano Pioli identified La Joya as the danger man before the match and the Viola contained him really well.

Dybala was typically classy on the ball and always looked a threat, but he was unable to make his usual impact.

Mario Mandzukic – 7.5

Struggled in the first half when the Viola’s rigid style of play forced him to play as something of an orthodox winger.

The second half saw more deep crosses for the Croatian to attack, and he stole a march on the defence to head in the winner.

His hard working style has made him a fan favourite in Turin, and he received rapturous applause when working back to almost his own corner flag to neutralise any Florentine threat.

Gonzalo Higuain – 4.5

Max Allegri won’t say it publicly, but the form of Higuain must be a concern for the Juventus Coach.

Following insipid displays against Barcelona and Sassuolo, Pipita was simply dreadful here, taking poor touches, being caught in possession and seemingly unable to stay onside.

Most gallingly of all for the predatory striker, he failed to anticipate a low Cuadrado cross which he had only to slide into a gaping net.

Substitutes

Miralem Pjanic – 3

Replaced Dybala as Allegri settled for 1-0, and was typically tidy in possession.

Federico Bernardeschi – N/A

Given the final eight minutes or so against his former side but didn’t have time to make an impact.

Stephan Lichtsteiner – N/A

Came on for the final few moments.

Bygaby

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