Manchester City vs Juventus: Votes and Analysis

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Buffon 8.5 MOTM - You just witnessed one of the better goal keeping performances in recent memory. Absolutely incredible out there. Made a great double save on Sterling and Silva. Made a great save on Toure from distance as well. Not only that but he played with confidence and size which has been his biggest downside this year. In the previous games he seemed a bit shy when it was time to come out and take the ball out of the air, but not today. Dominated his area.

The best ever.

Lichsteiner 6.5 - Typical Lich. Great defensively, piss poor going forward. I am giving him a slight benefit of the doubt and assuming his main task was to defend, and defend he did. Really solid defensive performance from him today. Every ball was contested in our final third which I like. His crossing needs work though.

Bonucci 6.0 - A bit lucky that Bony is piss poor when it comes to finishing. Got megged in the 31st minute sending Bony in on goal but nothing came from it. Other than that he had a solid game. His passing was excellent today.

Chiellini 6.5 - Not at fault for the goal. He was fouled. Other than that he was constantly forcing City players off the ball and stopping any sort of City attack before it could gain much momentum in the final third. They just couldn't find a way past him today.

Evra 6.0 - The same thing as Lich. In European competition Evra is really nice to have. Keeps his cool and doesn't make big mistakes. Had a poor back pass that led to a City chance, but other than that he really solid. Defensively he maintained position, and didn't get stretched too far forward.

Sturaro 6.0 - A lot of negatives and a lot of positives. He is definitely still green. Defensively the guy is a beast. Runs nonstop, makes great tackles, intercepts the ball, blocks shots, etc. Going forward he lacks a lot. His first touch leaves a lot to be desired, and inside oppositions box he clearly isn't comfortable. Great prospect, but not there yet.

Pogba 7.0 - He did a lot on his own today and did it well. He was vital as we played out of the back today. Made some great runs forward out of our final third which was very important given how much City pressed us. Made an absolute perfect pass to Mandzukic to tie the game up.

Hernanes 6.0 - Definitely a quiet game. Didn't get involved that much, but what he does do extremely well is move into space. He is almost always open for a pass which is extremely important. Other than helping us pass the ball around he didn't do much. Good freekick and good corner kicks.

Cuadrado 7.5 - This is what we have missed. Creative, fast, and decisive. Dangerous in the final third. His crossing is a thing of beauty. I like the flair he brings as well, but what I liked most today was how hard he tried. Constantly tracking back to defend and help the team. I'm glad we have an option to buy.

Mandzukic 7.0 - Just yesterday the papers were talking about him being a flop, and that we should regret selling Llorente. Then he shows up, presses the City defenders, tracks back to our fullback position multiple times to win possession back, and takes his one chance to score and handles it perfectly.

Morata 6.5 - The only way to take an absolute shit performance and make it positive is by scoring a beautiful curling effort in the 81st minute to give us our first win of the season and take 3 points away from our main competition in the group. He did that, so props to him. He was poor otherwise. Lost possession a lot, his shots didn't have much on them. Movement was good, and he did well considering he was playing out wide which is unnatural for him.

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Substitutes

Dybala 6.0 - Not much time to do anything, but definitely brought some needed energy for the last ten minutes.

Barzagli *s.v - Not enough time to make an impact

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Analysis

Allegri 7.0 -

This is why we give people time. What a tactical masterpiece from Allegri. The first time using the 4-3-3 and it couldn't have worked better. Opted against the 3-5-2 which made sense. We could have used it to match City's wide play, but then we leave 3 centerbacks holding one forward and we lose the midfield battle. Instead we went with the 4-3-3 which allowed Morata to drop back and cover the wings and Cuadrado to do the same. Then Mandzukic operated in the middle where he would either stay up top as a target or close the space down in the midfield to make passing tight for City.

It was risky to go with that formation, but I'm glad he did. It looked great. The midfield looked cohesive for the first time this year. We don't have Khedira, Asamoah, or Marchisio and we absolutely dominated. The 4-3-3 solves this issue because we don't need to play 4 midfielders. Hernanes as the holder was a bold move as well, but it worked well.

Big highlights from this game have to be how clutch Morata is, how talented Cuadrado is, and how much better we as a unit look. That game should give us a huge boost in confidence, and with 5 days rest before Genoa I expect a full squad to face Genoa, and then less full squad vs Frosinone.

Great game. Remember, we are Juve. Never count us out.