It took some time and a whole lot of blood pressure medication for the fan base, but Juventus pulled themselves together after another hideous first half to beat Cyprian Cinderellas Pafos 2-0 on Wednesday night at the J Stadium.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
There were lots of ups and downs between the first and second half, some swings far larger than others. We saw a largely ineffective full debut from Edon Zhegrova\u2014understandable given his gradual reintroduction to game time\u2014and Fabio Miretti failed to impress in a big start in midfield. But Kenan Yildiz did his part once again, and Jonathan David, despite an early miss, was on target in crunch time to seal the game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
How did each player do for the Bianconeri on Wednesday? Let\u2019s look:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
MICHELE DI GREGORIO – 6.5.<\/strong> Made two huge saves to keep Pafos from going in front in the first half, which would have changed the tenor of the game completely. Dealt with crosses relatively well, but he gets docked half a point for that heart-stopping moment with minutes to go when he was nearly charged down in the box by Mons Bassouamina and was only really bailed out by the fact he was fouled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n PIERRE KALULU – 6.5.<\/strong> Didn\u2019t have as much to do because Pafos tended to attack through the left, but was mistake-free and added a key pass in as well, continuing to play that Bastoni-like role coming up from the back three.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n LLOYD KELLY – 6.<\/strong> Solid as well, and isn\u2019t to be blamed for the near-own goal, he was clearing the ball like he was supposed to and Cambiaso was in the way. Should\u2019ve been more accurate on a header from a corner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n TEUN KOOPMEINERS – 5.5.<\/strong> If this grade was just for the first half it would be closer to a 4, but he did well when Spalletti moved him further up the field in the second half. He co-led the team with four tackles, had two key passes. The missed sitter in the first half was deeply frustrating, but he forced Neofytos Michael into a great save after the break. The question becomes with Bremer and Daniele Rugani now back in the squad, where\u2019s he going to go?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n WESTON McKENNIE – 7.<\/strong> This was a big game for Wes. Obviously the highlight of the day was the goal, which was the kind of audacious finish that he\u2019s been known to pull out of his hat from time to time. But he had three key passes, completed 93.8 percent of his passes overall\u2014which for him is a really impressive number\u2014and worked hard without the ball. It was his challenge that sprang the counterattack that sealed the game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n MANUEL LOCATELLI – 6.<\/strong> Led the team with four tackles\u2014several of them the excellent slide tackles that are becoming something of a trademark. His booking for such an attempt midway through the second half was laughable, as he won the ball cleanly before David Luiz did some of his usual playacting. He also had two key passes, but he also needs to pick up the tempo of the team\u2019s game when they\u2019re in the final third, although that isn\u2019t all his fault because for most of the first half none of his players were moving off the ball to try to pass the ball quickly to.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n FABIO MIRETTI – 5.<\/strong> Bit of a flop for Miretti in his first major test in the starting XI. He did make three key passes, but none of his three shots were remotely close to the target, and he gave the ball away repeatedly. The worst was the first-half free kick that he basically passed to someone in Pafos\u2019 wall. Now, the merits of a trick play there are debatable, but you still have to execute. Hope this doesn\u2019t hurt his standing with Spalletti.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n ANDREA CAMBIASO – 6.<\/strong> His assist for McKennie was tricker than it looked, as he had to find a lane through a ton of bodies. Finished with two key passes, two dribbles, and a pair of tackles as well. Still got burned a few times on his flank, though. He wasn\u2019t at his high-level peak from two years ago, but this was a step up from some of the slop he\u2019s been putting up lately.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n EDON ZHEGROVA – 5.<\/strong> Ring rust for the Kosovar, most likely. Given his long recovery and lack of minutes, I\u2019m inclined to guess that taking him off at halftime was a planned maneuver as opposed to a reaction to his play\u2014which was getting better. He grew into the game as the first half went on and had a shot deflected away by a defender later on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n KENAN YILDIZ – 6.5.<\/strong> Had four key passes including the inch-perfect assist on Jonathan David\u2019s goal and finished the evening with four key passes and three dribbles\u2014the leader and co-leader in those respective categories. Also had a shot well saved by Michael early in the first half, but seeing him contributing even without scoring is almost as good a sign as him actually putting goals in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n JONATHAN DAVID – 6.<\/strong> Will get a lot of stick for that missed chance just before halftime. I know he had his back to goal when he received the ball, but it was still in a spot that a striker with his track record is expected to score. He made up for it later on though, cooly beating Michael to end the breakaway. We\u2019d seen him miss one or two of those the last few months, so perhaps he\u2019s gaining some confidence\u2014which would be a fantastic, because the Lille version of him is something Juve desperately needs right now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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