Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata continued their rich vein of form as Juventus beat Ferencvaros 2-1 to progress to the Champions League Round of 16.
It was Ferencvaros that started the game on the front foot and bore fruit of their efforts as they took the lead in the 18th minute. Tokmac Nguen went on an inspired run and it was Myrto Uzuni who broke the deadlock from close range.
Juventus then responded with aplomb through a terrific effort by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar found the bottom corner from range with a powerful grounded shot. Juventus ran the show in the second half, but Ferencvaros did very well to keep the scores level, with goalkeeper Denes Dibusz the most determined of the lot.
? Ferencvarosi’s Myrto Uzuni celebrated like Cristiano after scoring against Juventus.
He then asked Cristiano for his jersey at full-time. Idol. pic.twitter.com/QiOjqDoGGR
— TeamCRonaldo (@TeamCRonaldo) November 24, 2020
Dibusz made five terrific saves, denying the Bianconeri from taking the lead up until the 92nd minute. Alvaro Morata met a fantastic cross from Juan Cuadrado, and it was Dibusz who turned from hero to villain in a matter of seconds, and would feel that he could have done better to prevent the winner.
In the end, Juventus took home three points and secured qualification to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. However, their performance was far from convincing and they would need a lot more to overcome Barcelona and top the group. The Hard Tackle now runs the rule over Andrea Pirlo’s men.
Woijciech Szczesny: 6/10
Apart from the initial wave of pressure from Ferencvaros, Szczesny had a very quiet game. The Pole could not do much about that goal conceded as Myrto Uzini poked the ball in from close range.
Juan Cuadrado: 8/10
➡️➡️ Two ???? assists from this man tonight! ??#JuveFerencvaros #JuveUCL #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/ORlkKqFcvH
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) November 24, 2020
One of the best players on the pitch, Cuadrado continued from where he had left off this past weekend and produced another solid performance. The Colombian delivered 2 assists, the second of which was truly sensational.
Danilo: 5/10
Danilo looked incredibly suspect in the central defensive role. His slip was costly in the the build-up to the Ferencvaros goal and Danilo did little to identify the danger in the box thereafter. Danilo is naturally a full-back and that showed on Tuesday, as Ferencvaros targetted him.
Matthijs De Ligt: 7/10
Matthijs de Ligt would feel that he could have done better to win the aerial duel that lead to the goal, but apart from that moment, the Dutchman seemed like the only one in defence who was interested in putting out the fires.
Alex Sandro: 6/10
A first start of the season for Sandro and the Brazilian looked good. He was dominant in the air and looked solid throughout. He could have perhaps done better to block the cross that led to the Ferencvaros goal.
Weston McKennie: 5/10
A largely anonymous performance from McKennie on his Champions League debut. He ran around, helped defensively but made no impact going forward.
Rodrigo Bentancur: 6.5/10
Bentancur had a decent game. He was not particularly exceptional on the ball, but was terrific without it. He won 5 out of his 7 ground duels and made 2 interceptions as well. He struck a fantastic volley in the closing stages of the game which could have made for a world-class strike.
Arthur Melo: 7/10
Pirlo: “Arthur? He got a bit pig-headed today keeping hold of the ball and trying to find more direct through balls when he should’ve spread it wide and tried to spread the Ferencvaros defence.”
— Forza Juventus (@ForzaJuveEN) November 25, 2020
Arthur was very impressive. He always seemed to create options for his teammates and was involved in the attacking phase too. Arthur played a single key pass, but several through balls over the course of the game. Despite Arthur’s great performance, he was singled out in the press conference by Pirlo for being too slow on the ball and lacking “vision”.
Federico Bernardeschi: 6/10
Bernardeschi seems to be improving. When involved, the Italian looks good, but his involvement was very limited. He came agonizingly close when his shot was turned away by the goalkeeper, hitting the post.
Paulo Dybala: 5/10
The captain for the night, Dybala produced a disappointing performance for the Bianconeri. Apart from the one attempt on goal, his involvement in the game was minimal. The lack of a traditional number nine seemed to hurt Juventus as Dybala struggled a lot. Pirlo hooked the Argentine off for the in-form Alvaro Morata. Dybala truly needs to step his game up.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 7/10
34 goals in 32 games for Juventus during 2020. Not slowing down. ? pic.twitter.com/YBQIzeuR3N
— TeamCRonaldo (@TeamCRonaldo) November 24, 2020
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first Champions League goal of the season with a sensational strike. His other contributions were minimal, although Ronaldo did come close when Morata slipped a through ball for him. Dibusz did well to retrieve the ball. Ultimately, it is another goal for the in-form Portuguese, who is showing no signs of slowing down with age.
SUBSTITUTES
Fedrico Chiesa: 7/10
Chiesa’s introduction in the 60th minute was crucial as Juventus attempted to up the ante. His through ball to Morata was sublime as the Spaniard stuck the post. Chiesa’s impact and energy reflected on the whole team.
Dejan Kulusevski: 5/10
The usually impressive Kulusevski did everything the opposite of Chiesa. Despite being on the pitch for 30 minutes, Kulusevski only had 13 touches and completed 3 passes. It was not the best of cameos by the Swede.
Alvari Morata: 8/10
Pirlo: “Arthur? He got a bit pig-headed today keeping hold of the ball and trying to find more direct through balls when he should’ve spread it wide and tried to spread the Ferencvaros defence.”
— Forza Juventus (@ForzaJuveEN) November 25, 2020
Despite only being on the pitch for only half an hour, Morata showed his worth as he scored the winner in 92nd minute. Morata combined well with Chiesa and Ronaldo, creating chances for others and coming close himself. Ultimately, Morata saved Juventus’s blushes and scored his 5th of the season in the Champions League. He is one goal behind first placed Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race now.
Aaron Ramsey: N/A
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Adrien Rabiot: N/A
Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
