Juventus did not bother showing up until the final stages of the first half, but then insisted in their pursuit of the kill-shot after getting the lead and their wish was ultimately granted, allowing a tranquil finish for a change.
Matthijs De Ligt (5 points): the Estensi attackers did not pose much of a threat and were pretty poor technically even when they tried to go forward, but the Dutch youngster still made his presence felt on few occasions, perfectly forestalling the opponents with ease. His best intervention came in the first half where he thwarted a three vs two. He has been growing in each game and it is a matter of time until he is back to Ajax levels. A diligent game for Leonardo Bonucci as well, who was just a tad nonchalant on a ball in the box late. Gianluigi Buffon surpassed Paolo Maldini with his 903rd club appearances and that was the highlight of his day, as the enemies never took a shot on goal.
Miralem Pjanic (6 points): another scorcher for the Bosnian playmaker, who bagged a half volley with sick precision, although helped by a slight and early deflection on the trajectory. Besides the goal, which was key, he had his best outing thus far as a passer, brilliantly managed the pace and sprung Paulo Dybala loose with a great through ball to generate the second goal. Having few technical players next to him does take the pressure off of him. Aaron Ramsey was a bit imprecise but his unpredictable movements always create a problem for opponents and he should have scored on a wide-open header. Once again, it took too much time for Adrien Rabiot to enter the game and Sami Khedira was seen only on some opportunities in the box. Emre Can did not much with the playing time he was given, while Juan Cuadrado and Blaise Matuidi covered the unusual role, especially for the latter, with diligence.
Cristiano Ronaldo (4 points): Etrit Berisha frustrated him with otherworldy saves at least a couple of times, but he did get his goal with a textbook thumping header between the legs of the goalie. He also had a few superb plays as an assist man, but his teammate did not capitalize. Paulo Dybala delivered a pinpoint cross on the Ronaldo goal and had a decent level of success with some mazing runs, but Berisha got in his way too. The connection between the two is starting to form, but it remains to be seen whether the Bianconeri can consistently work around not having a big presence in the box.
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