Cagliari-Juventus, CM player ratings: Maldini unleashed. Kolo Muani breaks his duck but then misses again. Woltemade invisible
Cagliari player ratings
Caprile 6.5: Juventus pose no extraordinary threat, but whenever they get into the box, he is ready to come off his line and make a well-judged clearance.
Ze Pedro 5.5: He covers well in the first half. After the break, though, he loses his position and Alajbegovic and even Cambiaso beat him too often.
Mina 7: When an opposing manager complains to you at half-time about the rough treatment his forwards are receiving, you know you're doing your job. Add tackles timed to the millimetre and the picture is complete.
Rodriguez 6: One mistake costs him: he faces Nico Gonzalez too square-on, lets him past and brings him down. The resulting yellow card prompts Pisacane to substitute him.
(from the 46th minute, Deiola 5.5: His biggest mistake is a bookable foul on Kolo Muani. He then holds his position well and proves vital on several occasions, particularly when he denies Woltemade a goal)
Obert 5.5: After nullifying Conceicao, he begins to struggle with Zhegrova's runs in the second half. His cardinal sin is failing to read Kolo Muani's run for the 1-1 equaliser.
(from the 84th minute, Fazzini not rated)
Adopo 6.5: He breaks up play, drives forward, creates chances and, above all, never stops. Strong one-on-one against Juventus' attacking midfielders, he plays forward whenever he can. Valuable.
Winks 6: A shot from the edge of the box gives Vicario a scare. It is the highlight of a performance in which he is unusually less accurate than we've come to expect.
Romano 6.5: Composed and calm on the ball, he is always an option for his team-mates and puts in plenty of running to help out on the flanks.
Massolin 6: The former Modena player makes a positive first start. He rarely features in attack but works hard for the team
(from the 60th minute, Fadera 6: he offers more danger on the few counter-attacks after coming on)
Maldini 7: Picking up where he left off, he breaks the deadlock in a hard-fought match with a trademark piece of play. Ice-cool in front of Vicario, he almost lays on a perfect assist for Winks too. Whenever Cagliari create, he is involved. A fourth consecutive goal rewards his progress
(from the 69th minute, Sugawara 6: disciplined, alert and rarely beaten. With him on the pitch instead of Maldini, though, Cagliari sit considerably deeper).
Mendy 6.5: He doesn't catch the eye, but he contributes more than it might seem. Holding off his marker and laying the ball off for Maldini is only the start. He stretches the opposition, manages counter-attacks and always gives the defence a long-ball outlet
(from the 69th minute, Nzola 5.5: He struggles to do what Mendy had done so well. Once he comes on, Cagliari cannot get out of their own penalty area. His lack of movement allows Lucumì and Bremer to read him perfectly).
Manager: Pisacane 6: His side stifle Juventus for more than 70 minutes, but the substitutions and his players' physical decline force him to make changes. The substitutes drop too deep and allow Juventus two chances. One proves fatal, while for the other he has Kolo Muani to thank. His Cagliari side have shown again how solid they are.
Juventus player ratings
Vicario 6.5: Maldini beats him from close range after the defence leave the scorer unmarked. Vicario can do nothing about it. He makes a crucial save from Winks's left-footed shot from the edge of the area to keep Juventus in the game, then denies Mendy and Fadera, although both are subsequently flagged offside. Juventus have found a reliable presence at the back.
Kalulu 5.5: After the initial deflection, he and his team-mates lose track of Maldini's run, leaving him a clear path into the middle of the area. He offers little going forward, rarely pushing up or making his presence felt.
Bremer 5.5: Completely out of position for Maldini's goal, he is also unlucky, through no fault of his own, to start the series of ricochets that lead to it. Mendy gives him no fixed point of reference, and Bremer struggles to follow him all over the pitch. The leader of a defence that struggle badly, especially in open space.
Lucumì 6: A poor start sees him allow Mendy to get in front of him and Maldini to score the opener. He improves, though, and effectively nullifies Nzola in the second half, allowing Juventus to pin Cagliari back in their own area.
Celik 6: Alert defensively, he also reaches the byline on the left several times. Adopo and Massolin rarely make headway down that side, keeping his defensive task straightforward.
(from the 64th minute Cambiaso 5.5: He struggles to settle, and Spalletti loudly reprimands him for being too casual. One attacking burst forces a save from Caprile, but he is still clearly short of fitness).
Douglas Luiz 5.5: Some of his build-up play impresses, but other moments leave his team-mates scrambling to make amends. He always offers them a passing option, yet Juventus struggle to play forward, partly because of how he manages possession.
(from the 84th minute Koopmeiners not rated)
Sarr 6: An up-and-down 90 minutes brings a few attacking bursts and some excellent defensive reading, even when he tracks back at the last moment to help out. He provides the balance Juventus need, but at 1-0 down they need more courage.
Conceicao 5.5: Apart from an early shot over the bar, the flashes of skill that made his name are almost entirely absent. He works diligently to bring his team-mates into play but runs into Obert too often, with the defender's marking neutralising him.
(from the 46th minute Zhegrova 6.5: Within 10 minutes of coming on, he shows everything Conceicao failed to provide. He forces Caprile into more than one save, dribbles past opponents and sets up Kolo Muani, who lets the ball run instead of shooting from just behind the penalty spot. Juventus' second-half threat is largely down to him).
McKennie 5: Deployed as an attacking midfielder behind Kolo Muani, who roams widely, he should, or at least could, make better use of the space the Frenchman leaves. Instead, an early yellow card for an ugly foul on Romano affects him so much that he is practically invisible.
(from the 46th minute Alajbegovic 6.5: He starts poorly, offering a little more than the American he replaces but falling short of what he has shown so far. As the minutes pass, he improves. Between the 80th and 85th minutes, he delivers two perfectly placed crosses for Kolo Muani that produce a goal and a missed chance for the Frenchman)
Nico Gonzalez 6.5: Juventus' most dangerous player in a first half short of chances, he runs tirelessly, wins fouls, delivers crosses and links up with his team-mates. He also forces Caprile into action a few times. With too little support, he soon runs out of steam, prompting Spalletti to take him off.
(from the 60th minute Woltemade 5.5: He takes some pressure off Kolo Muani and gives him more freedom, but offers very little himself. He makes a few too many technical errors and never really threatens in front of goal)
Kolo Muani 6: Spalletti has said it repeatedly: the Frenchman is not a striker who fills the penalty area. Poor first touches and confusion hamper him, and he even lets the ball run for a team-mate when he could shoot with the whole goal in front of him. In the second half, he scores thanks to a superb piece of vision from Alajbegovic. But with an almost identical chance, alone in front of Caprile, he strikes the crossbar with his foot. His goalscoring troubles are not entirely behind him.
Manager Spalletti 6: Despite knowing the limitations of the players he sends out, he gets his initial selections wrong. His half-time substitutions change the game, and his only regret is Kolo Muani hitting the crossbar from close range at 1-1. Then come two incidents while play is stopped: his complaints to Yerri Mina at half-time and his confrontation with Pisacane after the match, which leads to both managers being sent off. He shows the same nerves as his team on the pitch.
