Juventus vs Manchester City: Player ratings

Standard Sport assesses the individual performances from Manchester City's 1-0 defeat to Juventus at Juventus Stadium
How did they fare?
(Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
Charlie Eustice26 November 2015

Juventus

Gianluigi Buffon – 8 out of 10

No worries from the Italian shot-stopper here; Had a steady evening when called upon, safely covering several shots as they fizzled wide, and clamped on to the ball like a bulldog during a second-half goalmouth scramble.

Andrea Barzagli – 7 out of 10

Mostly robust defending, including stopping a Kevin de Bruyne-led attack dead in its tracks in the first half and slid in to cover Raheem Sterling’s wide shot in the second half.

Giorgio Chiellini - 6 out of 10

Not a terrible evening, but a few wayward passes in the first half nearly led to disaster, with Aguero inches away from intercepting one of them.

Leonardo Bonucci - 6 out of 10

Cleared up a City counter-attack late on in the game with a risky back-heel, but it came off nicely. Stayed solid enough in his defensive duties, but nothing special.

Stephan Lichtsteiner - 7 out of 10

Led a lonesome attack in the first half which ended up in the back of the net, but in the wrong way. With studs entangled in the goal, he had tried to chip Joe Hart, but couldn’t quite get enough height.

Alex Sandro – 8 out of 10

The full back pulled off playing as an attacking wing back perfectly, supplying ball after ball into the box from the left, including a pinpoint cross to Mario Mandžukić for his goal. An excellent performance from the Brazilian.

Claudio Marchisio – 5 out of 10

Had a quiet game until a horrific pass back to Buffon ended up on Aguero’s toes, and he was very fortunate that the Argentine didn’t punish the home side.

Paul Pogba – 7 out of 10

All the fancy flicks and turns of pace you would expect from the Frenchman, but never quite close enough to the action when it mattered. Tried to put Morata through during a counter-attack, but played the ball a little too close to Joe Hart.

Stefano Sturaro – 5 out of 10

A very quiet game for the midfielder, until Morata’s chip over Hart veered away from the goal. Sturaro slid in with the pace of a steam train, but could only direct it at the woodwork.

Paulo Dybala – 6 out of 10

A lot of pace, energy and enthusiasm, but very little to show for it in the end. Made far too much drama of every tackle he received, but his theatrics were clearly to a high standard, resulting in the bookings of Jesus Navas and Sagna.

Mario Mandžukić – 8 out of 10

Scored from six yards out, but his technique was top-notch, cushioning Sandro’s cross and flicking it goal-ward at the same time. Had another chance soon after at an awkward angle which was hit with real venom, but parried by Hart.

From the Bench –Álvaro Morata - 8 out of 10

Came on and instantly inspired more energy into Juve who had hit a momentum plateau. Nearly pulled off a sublime lob with his very first touch in the game, and his fresh legs bothered City until the final whistle.

OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images

Manchester City

Joe Hart – 9 out of 10

For the losing keeper, Hart had a solid game. He can blame only his centre backs for the first goal, and made a stellar stop against Morata

Bacary Sagna - 3 out of 10

Completely mugged by the fantastic Alex Sandro for the duration of the match, offering virtually no resistance to the Brazilian.

Martín Demichelis – 5 out of 10

Marking not quite up to scratch and was nowhere to be found when Mandžukić struck. Atoned for this somewhat with a late block against Paulo Dybala’s shot.

Nicolás Otamendi – 3 out of 10

Rather than get goal side and defend Mandžukić in the box, Otamendi seemed happy to try and win a very flimsy foul instead. Marking not up to scratch, and seemed to make a game of drawing fouls from the goal scorer thereafter.

Gaël Clichy – 5 out of 10

The speedy Frenchman contributed little in either attacking or defensive capacities on Wednesday night, being completely eclipsed by Kevin de Bruyne on the left flank.

Fernando – 2 out of 10

Headed De Bruyne’s corner towards the goal, which was stopped on the line by Buffon. Other than that, did absolutely nothing noteworthy.

Fernandinho – 8 out of 10

Managed to facilitate the role of metronome brilliantly in the first half. Pretty picking up possession in the middle of the park and offloading it to Kevin de Bruyne several times. Subbed off for Fabien Delph after an hour.

Jesús Navas – 5 out of 10

Looked like he picked up a nasty knock in the first half, and didn’t seem to play quite the same afterwards, going missing for the rest of the first half, and not making enough runs down the right to cause Juventus any problems.

Kevin de Bruyne - 7 out of 10

All the enthusiasm and attacking flair you would expect from the Belgian wonderkid, acting as City’s answer to Sandro. Set up a good amount of opportunities, but

Yaya Touré – 7 out of 10

A mixed game for the Ivorian which started slowly. Was caught in possession a few times, but upped his game later on, showing once more that he is a huge presence on the pitch as he effortlessly ploughed through Juve defenders.

Sergio Agüero – 6 out of 10

Didn’t quite have his eye in. Nearly snatched a chance from Chiellini in the first half, and did do so from Marchisio before the break, but converted neither. Subbed off for Raheem Sterling with 22 minutes to go.

From the bench – Raheem Sterling – 5 out of 10

Came on for Sergio Agüero towards the end of the match, but his only real chance was when he missed a sitter from four yards out, instead hitting it towards Barzagli, who if anything, directed the shot closer to going in.

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