Juventus Top Perfomers – Round 27 vs Cagliari

Juventus flipped the off-switch a little too early in the second half, but Cagliari created only some minor headaches and therefore an impressive first 45 minutes proved sufficient to return from Sardinia with the full spoils.

Cristiano Ronaldo (13 points): he was not to be denied in this one, plus lousy defending by the opponents did the rest, allowing him to assemble his second hat-trick since he moved to Italy, ironically enough against the same team. It was a perfect one as well, since he rose above everybody for a header, converted the penalty kick with his right foot and rifled it home with the left one after bamboozling a defender on the third one. Coach Andrea Pirlo fielded his whole offensive arsenal in this one and in fact the Bianconeri were overwhelming on that end, even though Alvaro Morata left a couple of goals on the table due to poor finishes.

Federico Chiesa (2 points): he and Dejan Kulusevski were neck-and-neck in terms of effectiveness, as both wreaked havoc through the hapless Cagliari back-line, and the Italian winger gets the nod simply because he picked up an assist as he found Ronaldo with a sharp pass ahead of the third goal. He often switched field position in no time with his furious runs. Kulusevski had even more touches, but was not unlucky on a pair of gorgeous feeds as his teammates were unable to hit the net. He looks extremely comfortable on the right flank and the formation might stick. Adrien Rabiot tried to make it three in a row with a goal but just missed the target in the second half. With so much talent on the wings and up front, the two central midfielders, the other being Danilo, did not have to handle the ball too much.

Giorgio Chiellini: every times he plays it is evident that he still is the smartest defender in the roster, unfortunately continuous injuries makes it a rare occasion. He seemingly had a magnet for the ball in the first half as he thwarted the only two dangerous situations created by the enemies with great timing. Juan Cuadrado dished an assist with a precise corner kick but was fairly quiet, while Alex Sandro limped off in the first half due to injury. Matthijs De Ligt made his presence felt from the physical standpoint, especially guarding Joao Pedro, who was completely engulfed, and Wojciech Szczesny answered the bell when tested. The goal mostly came thanks to a great combination by the Rossoblù and a lapse by Federico Bernardeschi, who is still earning the ins and outs of playing fullback. No harm no foul in this case, even though getting the clean sheet would have perfectly rounded out a bounce-back effort.

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