Torino vs. Juventus: Winners and Losers from Serie A
Returning to domestic action after their Champions League exit, Juventus travelled across town for a derby clash with Torino, emerging 4-1 winners in a match that was much closer than the final score suggests.
It was a welcome relief from their European heartbreak—losing as they did in extra time to Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich on Wednesday—and Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri insisted his side had “no regrets” at his pre-match press conference on Saturday afternoon.
After stressing a need to “come back fighting,” the coach will undoubtedly have been pleased by the reaction as he went on to explain that there was still much for the Bianconeri to look forward to before the end of the 2015/16 season:
"We’re in the hunt for the Scudetto, we have a place in the Coppa Italia final and we’ve won the Super Cup. Perhaps if we had a bit more of the rub of the green we would have reached the Champions League quarter-finals, but we mustn’t allow Wednesday’s game to derail us in our chase for the title. It’s important we keep taking each game at a time, starting with tomorrow’s against Torino.
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He and his players will take much confidence from Sunday's result, and what follows is a look at the individual winners and losers from Juventus' latest victory, highlighting the best and worst performances from the Serie A encounter between these two derby rivals.
Winner: Gigi Buffon (Juventus)
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After 10 consecutive clean sheets, Juventus skipper Gigi Buffon needed just four minutes of this match to break the all-time Serie A record. As OptaPaolo tweeted during the match, the 38-year-old managed exactly that, adding another 40 minutes to Sebastiano Rossi’s previous high as he turned in a fine performance.
Loser: Kamil Glik (Torino)
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If Gigi Buffon and the Juve back line shone once again, the same cannot be said of Torino captain Kamil Glik—normally such a calming influence at the heart of the Granata defence—despite some impressive-looking statistics.
Indeed, figures provided by WhoScored.com show he made an impressive four tackles, seven interceptions and a staggering 14 clearances, but he also committed four fouls and looked unconvincing from the opening whistle.
Winner: Alvaro Morata (Juventus)
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While Paul Pogba deserves immense credit for his goal and two assists, the introduction of Alvaro Morata was arguably the difference between the two teams here. Introduced in the 31st minute to replace the injured Paulo Dybala, the Spain international displayed the same fine form he showed against Bayern in midweek.
Netting twice, Morata’s directness and pace were simply too much for the Torino defence to contain, and Juventus will hope that the striker can maintain this level in the coming weeks.
Loser: Alex Sandro (Juventus)
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While Juventus celebrated a well-deserved but difficult victory, it was an afternoon to forget for Alex Sandro. The Brazilian conceded the penalty that Torino converted to end Gigi Buffon's record-breaking goalless run, and his yellow card means he has now passed the disciplinary threshold and will be suspended for the club’s next match at home against Empoli.
Winner: Bruno Peres (Torino)
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Had Torino taken anything away from this encounter, they would have owed much to their Brazilian wing-back Bruno Peres. As previously discussed, his head-to-head battle with Alex Sandro was always going to be hugely influential in the result, and there is little doubt that he got the better of the Juve man throughout the 90 minutes.
According to WhoScored.com, Peres created two scoring chances, won a penalty and made two interceptions, two clearances and one tackle in an action-packed display.
