PLAYER RATINGS: PARMA 0-4 JUVENTUS.
After a deflating draw against an Atalanta side that Juventus had all but defeated, the Torino side came out with something to prove against fourteenth place Parma. The Bianconeri were firing on all cylinders as the defending champions defeated the Emilia-Romagna-based club while holding onto a clean sheet. Three points raise the club closer to their goal of catching current Serie A leaders, AC Milan.
Notice: All ratings are calculated through a stringent process utilizing statistics and the eye test called My Opinion and are most certainly incorrect.
Starters
Gianluigi Buffon - 7
Gigi Buffon did Gigi Buffon things early in the first half stopping a threatening Parma runout that otherwise was all but destined to make its way into goal. Buffon followed it up with an additional beautiful stop at the line on a shot by Kucka shortly after the Ronaldo second score. And of course he did it again, standing tall on a great one-on-one stop on the shot from a Parma attacker to keep the clean sheet. Buffon contributed four saves, two punches, two saves from inside the box, one accurate long ball, and three clearances.
Danilo Luiz da Silva - 6.5
Danilo was the best rated defensive player of the line for the match. You will hear this all season from me, but the most important statistic any defense can have is the bottom line of the clean sheet. They got it. Danilo contributed two clearances, four interceptions, one ground duel won, one key pass, one accurate cross, two accurate long balls, one shot off target, and one successful dribble. Danilo was penalized with a yellow card at the 40’.
Matthijs De Ligt - 6.5
You do not need an additional summary of De Ligt’s play from me, the Dutch defender is a human brick wall. The defensive prodigy also had a disallowed boot at the 54’ after it was determined that the ball had exited play prior to De Ligt’s strike. De Ligt contributed two clearances, one interception, two tackles, four ground duels won, one accurate long ball, one shot off target, and a clean sheet.
Leonardo Bonucci - 5.5
The Juventus and Italian captain did not produce a game worth writing home about, but the bottom line for the defense remains to keep a clean sheet. In the end he contributed to that. Bonucci contributed one clearance, one interception, three aerial duels won, one shot off target, one shot blocked, and one big chance missed. Bonucci was substituted for Juan Cuadrado at the 76’.
Alex Sandro - 6
The Brazilian has become a reliable contributor to the squad since his return from injury and has had a noticeable improvement under Pirlo’s tutelage compared to some of the maligned performances during the Sarri season. The club was able to start the scoring earlier this evening thanks, in part, to the early delivery by Alex Sando at the 23’ to ex-Parma star Dejan Kulusevski for the goal. Sandro contributed two key passes, two accurate crosses, one accurate long ball, one shot off target, three successful dribbles, six ground duels won, one aerial duel won, one interception, and two tackles.
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