Juventus vs. Sassuolo: Winners and Losers from Serie A
Having returned to winning ways with a victory over Atalanta last weekend, Juventus welcomed Sassuolo to Turin Friday night as they embarked on a 10-day spell that is likely to ultimately decide their chances of success this season.
The Neroverdi were the last domestic opponent to beat the reigning Serie A champions back in October, but coach Massimiliano Allegri’s men avoided that same fate here, eventually emerging 1-0 winners thanks to Paulo Dybala’s first-half strike.
Earlier in the week, Sassuolo boss Eusebio Di Francesco had warned his players not to expect the Bianconeri to have one eye on their upcoming fixture with Bayern Munich, praising the professional approach of their forthcoming opponents to reporters at his pre-match press conference.
“I don’t think they’ll be distracted by the Champions League, I’ve faced Juve a lot—as a player too—and they’re always focused on every game, as it should be,” the coach of the Emilia-Romagna side said.
“We know it’s difficult, we’re facing the form team in Serie A, but the lads have to play openly and try to hurt an opponent who haven’t conceded in a long time,” Di Francesco continued, and it proved to be just as tough as he expected.
What follows here is a look at the individual winners and losers from this latest Juventus victory, highlighting the best and worst performances from the Serie A clash.
Winner: Gigi Buffon (Juventus)
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Perhaps the biggest story heading into this clash was the fact Juventus had kept nine consecutive clean sheets in Serie A, a remarkable string of shut-outs that had brought Gigi Buffon close to yet another club record.
In the 67th minute, the captain passed legendary predecessor Dino Zoff as the goalkeeper with the longest unbeaten streak for the Bianconeri, per this tweet from Opta. Indeed, by the end of the match, Buffon was just four minutes short of the all-time league record of 929, which is currently held by Sebastiano Rossi of AC Milan.
Loser: Paul Pogba (Juventus)
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While veteran stopper Buffon was once again thriving, Paul Pogba was left on the bench by Mr Allegri, giving a rare starting berth in midfield instead to Kwadwo Asamoah at the expense of the former Manchester United man.
It was perhaps deserved after the string of poor performances discussed in detail in this previous post, but Pogba should return against Bayern Munich next week with a chance to prove his quality to the coach.
Winner: Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
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Juventus won here thanks to the individual brilliance of Paulo Dybala, as the striker pulled out yet another excellent finish to snatch all three points.
Without that moment of skill, it was difficult to recall another clear-cut chance from the Bianconeri, who were made to earn the result by a resilient Sassuolo side.
Loser: Patrice Evra (Juventus)
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The superb displays of Alex Sandro should not be used as criticism of Patrice Evra, but there is little doubt that the former is slowly surpassing the latter as the best and most viable option at left-back for the Bianconeri.
Since arriving in the summer, the dynamism, energy and overall quality provided by the Brazilian has added an extra dimension to the Juventus attack, while he never neglects his defensive duties.
Over time, that is likely to see Evra’s playing time decrease, regardless of the fact that he too has played at a consistently high level throughout 2015/16.
Winner: Nicola Sansone (Sassuolo)
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Despite finishing on the losing side, Nicola Sansone deserves much credit for his performance here.
Having scored against Milan last week, the forward ploughed a lonely furrow against the excellent Juventus defence, particularly with both Gregoire Defrel and Domenico Berardi absent from the starting XI.
