The Cult of Calcio
·2 November 2024
The Cult of Calcio
·2 November 2024
Juventus bounced back from their poor midweek outing against Parma by prevailing over Udinese at the Bluenergy Stadium in the battle of the two Bianconeri. The visitors took the lead in the 20th minute when Khephren Thuram’s strike bounced off the post and then bumped into the back of the unlucky Maduka Okeye. Nicolo Savona then pounced on the rebound to score the second. Thiago Motta’s men managed to maintain their two-goal cushion to take the points home. So here are our player ratings for Juventus who returned to winning ways at the expense of their hosts Udinese by two unanswered goals.
Michele Di Gregorio – 6.5
The Italy international produced a spectacular save to prevent Keinan Davis from scoring an immediate equalizer. He was also the first to the ball on most set-piece crosses.
Nicolò Savona – 7.5
A brilliant display from the young right-back who kept his cool to slot the ball past several defenders to give his side a valuable two-goal lead. He also showed his composure and maturity at the back, albeit he eventually found some difficulties following Hassane Kamara’s entry.
Federico Gatti – 6.5
A solid outing at the back from the former Frosinone man, even though he encountered tougher times when Lorenzo Lucca entered the pitch.
Pierre Kalulu – 6.5
Just like Gatti, the Frenchman was enjoying a relatively quiet night against Davis and Florian Thauvin, but Lucca gave him something to worry about.
Andrea Cambiaso – 6.5
The influential full-back covered every ounce of the pitch as usual, and combined well with Yildiz and Locatelli. Nevertheless, he committed a couple of howlers in dangerous areas that went unpunished.
Manuel Locatelli – 6.5
The Euro 2020 winner was solid and composed as ever while operating in front of the defense. Did an exceptional job at shielding the backline and even played a role in the opener.
Khephren Thuram – 7
This was arguably the Frenchman’s best performance since joining Juventus in the summer. While the opener went down as an Okeye own-goal, Thuram had his signature all over it. He also launched the play that culminated in the second.
Timothy Weah – 5.5
The American tried his best to make himself involved, first on the right wing and then on the left, but his display lacked a marquee moment.
Teun Koopmeiners – 5.5
The Dutchman will be kicking himself for failing to open his Juventus goalscoring account when he found himself in front of goal. He’s now acting as the team’s technical leader, but he didn’t see much of the ball this time.
Kenan Yildiz – 7
A fine outing from the Juventus Number 10 who picked up Thuram on the opener and then almost scored the second himself but was denied by the post. Showcased his outrageous dribbling skills on a few occasions.
Dusan Vlahovic – 5.5
To his credit, the Serbian remained mentally composed despite seeing little of the ball. Tested Okeye with a thunderous effort, but that was his lone highlight of a quiet evening in Udine
Weston McKennie – 5.5
The former Schalke man kept the ball rolling for Juventus in midfield, although his impact was limited.
Francisco Conceicao – 5.5
The Portuguese star is always dangerous on the ball, but couldn’t inflict damage this time. He also wasn’t on song with Yildiz.