The Bianconeri built a big enough lead in the first half to survive a ten-minute blackout after intermission, pulling away late and securing the second W in a row with a low-wattage performance against Genoa.
Dejan Kulusevki (3 points): it took him just a few minutes into the contest to get the monkey off his back scoring-wise, finding the target with a routine but very sharp lefty strike, which had become his trademark shot in Parma. He immediately rewarded the choice of the coach, who could have easily gone with the lineup that worked out great against Napoli and paved the way for the first commanding 45 minutes. Teammates looked for him more often than usual throughout the match, but he could have had a bigger day if he did not botch a counter-attack in the second half. He was not alone in that element and it is a trend that is becoming a little worrisome.
Weston McKennie bagged an equally important goal, re-doubling the lead after Genoa had started to have serious comeback ideas in mind, although their push had already relented a bit at that point. He had not hit the net in a minute, but he beat a shoddy offside trap and finished perfectly in front of the goalkeeper. Federico Chiesa took many shots and was a little unlucky not to find the back of the net and gets the credit for the Morata goal, which was created by his bursting run through the middle. Adrien Rabiot and Rodrigo Bentancur did not have many flashes, but it seems like they are having a bigger impact on the game than in the previous months and are growing together.
Alvaro Morata (4 points): he too re-found his touch in the box with an easy tap-in after Cristiano Ronaldo had hit the post with a flying deflection, putting the recent struggles in the rearview mirror, although he had remained effective in other areas of the game. The Portuguese star did not get to score, and it must be a first when Juventus produce this much offensively, but he logged the usual high volume of shots and was especially on fire when it came to taking defenders on, opening up space for some very dangerous actions.
Danilo (2 points): The Old Lady got two assists by defenders in this one. Juan Cuadrado gave Nicolò Rovella nightmares on the flank, perfectly teeing up Kulusevski, but he played just one half. The Brazilian fullback instead sprung McKennie through with a timely through ball on the third goal, was tidy in the back and very vocal while things were coming apart in the back the second half. Wojciech Szczesny had a bounce-back game, catching any attempt within his reach, particularly shooting the gap in a hurry on Gianluca Scamacca and producing a great save on a pinpoint effort by Marko Pjaca that could have tied the game. Matthijs De Ligt fell, maybe pushed, on the goal, leaving his opponent on his own, while Giorgio Chiellini had a more convincing display.
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