The onus is always on the chasing team when involved in a late-season race for table positioning. They need to keep winning games in order to put pressure on the team they\u2019re pursuing, and any slip-ups can see the gap between the two teams widen at inopportune times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Juventus are in that unenviable position right now, and they allowed a monkey wrench to be thrown into their race for the top four on Saturday, when they dropped points against Sassuolo, drawing 1-1 despite\u2014stop me if you\u2019ve heard this one before\u2014allowing a single shot on target.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Poor finishing, including an absolutely awful penalty in the dying minutes of the game, was again the culprit. While it has to be said that Sassuolo goalkeeper Arijanet Muric made a couple of impressive saves, especially in the second half, Juve\u2019s superiority in the match\u2014they had nearly two-thirds of the possession and outshot Sassuolo more than two to one\u2014should\u2019ve seen them get the goals they needed to pull away. And then there was that penalty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The result gave themselves a much tougher road to overtake Como for Champions League qualification with eight games to go.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
How did everyone on the field fare? Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
MATTIA PERIN – 5.5.<\/strong> Unpopular opinion, but Perin should\u2019ve done better when Andrea Pinamonti scored Sassuolo\u2019s equalizer. Given the direction of Pinamonti\u2019s run, there was really only one direction he could\u2019ve taken his shot, which I thought Perin should\u2019ve anticipated. Instead he was completely flat-footed and barely moved. He may not have gotten to the ball, but he could\u2019ve\u2014should\u2019ve\u2014given himself a better chance. It\u2019s a shame, because up to that point he had one of the highlights of the game when he claimed a corner and fired a quick punt upfield into the path of Francisco Concie\u00e7\u00e3o to set up Juve\u2019s goal. I\u2019m still not 100 percent convinced that he\u2019s a serious upgrade over Michele Di Gregorio, even considering Di Gregorio\u2019s poor run of form.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n PIERRE KALULU – 7.<\/strong> Did some excellent work today, making four tackles and adding in two key passes and 92.3 percent pass completion. Unfortunate not to score at the end of the first half, bending a shot just beyond the far post. A typical high-level performance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n BREMER – 5.<\/strong> Despite my criticism of Perin, Bremer\u2019s marking on Pinamonti\u2019s goal was remarkably poor, and was certainly the main factor in conceding the goal. He\u2019s looked uncharacteristically shaky in recent weeks, which is the last thing Juve needs. He has to pick up his game over the last eight weeks of the season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n LLOYD KELLY – 6.<\/strong> A pretty good day in defense for the Englishman. Juve\u2019s domination of possession meant there wasn\u2019t much in the way of counting stats to rack up, but he was solid when he needed to be and moved forward to join the attack whenever he could.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n ANDREA CAMBIASO – 5.<\/strong> Basically a non-factor out of the left-back spot today. Hard to tell if his frustration after being subbed off was at Luciano Spalletti for taking him off or at himself for a poor display, but if he had any self-awareness it would be the latter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n MANUEL LOCATELLI – 5.<\/strong> Most of his time on the field was pretty good. He forced Muric into a good save early in the game and led the team with five tackles, also making a pair of key passes. But a penalty miss like that limits the upper reaches of what a player\u2019s grade can be. Last year with the top four on the line he was nails, today he completely overthought his penalty and got cute instead of just hitting the damn thing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n FRANCISCO CONCEI\u00c7\u00c3O – 7.<\/strong> Made a fantastic run to assist Juve\u2019s opener on a lightning-fast counterattack, and was a force in the first half especially. He led the team with four dribbles and four key passes\u2014the latter number a huge deal given the compact winger\u2019s tendency to put his head down and charge when he\u2019s got the ball at his feet. Weirdly, all three of his shot attempts were blocked. Did lose steam in the second half, but that\u2019s to be expected after working so dang hard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n WESTON McKENNIE – 6.<\/strong> Made a pair of key passes and ran like an unhinged distance racer, covering almost every blade of grass on the pitch. Could\u2019ve perhaps been a bit tighter with things in some areas but overall another solid game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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