Player Ratings: Malmo 0-2 Juventus

Date: 26th November 2014 at 11:14pm
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Juventus defeated Malmo 2-0 at the Swedbank Stadion in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Fernando Llorente grabbed the opener with a calm just after half time, finish before Carlos Tevez wrapped up any doubt in the dying moments of the game.

Agree with our ratings? Have your say in the comments below!

Malmo

Robin Olson – 5.5 – Blockade

Made some good saves including a peach to deny Marchisio, even though the Italian should really have scored. Could do nothing for either goal conceded.

Anton Tinnerholm – 5 – Sturdy

Was solid for the most part ended up on the losing side. Was taken off for a more attacking approach with the addition of Rakip with five minutes to go.

Erik Johansson – 3 – Anger

Lost his head after Juventus’ second goal due to the referee not pulling play back for a foul. Not that his sending off affected how the match would end. A shame if his parents were in attendance though.

Filip Helander – 4.5 – Weak

Arguably the weakest of the back-line and failed to control the quick movement of Tevez and failed to track the run of Llorente for the game’s opening goal.

Richardinho – 5 – Name

Will always win the award for best named player of the game, but sadly the Brazilian was just as helpless to trying to salvage something for his team.

Magnus Eriksson – 6 – Eagle

Pinged the ball very well around his players in the first half, but seemed to fade out of the game as the match got away from the home side. Can be proud of his performance.

Enoch Adu – 5 – Clever

Much like Eriksson, made some smart passes including a quick touch and flick to striker  Kiese Thelin at the end of the first half. Was marked out of the game in the second and thus rendered ineffective.

Markus Halsti – 4.5 – Obsolete

Didn’t offer much compared to his midfield buddies and was bypassed for most of the game. Ran about a fair bit but ultimately wasn’t in the match at all.

Emil Forsberg – 5 – Fearless

Enjoyed running at the Juventus backline during the first half and looked like he could be the key to unlocking the opening goal, instead, faded just like every other Malmo player sadly.

Markus Rosenberg – 5.5 – Tried

Caused a few problems at the back for the Bianconeri but to no avail. Forced Buffon into a great save in the final minute but by then the game was done. Picked up a booking for dissent at the end as well.

Isaac Kiese Thelin – 6 – Hassle

Was a shame to see him go off in the final 20 minutes as he was a constant threat the first 45 minutes and Malmo’s brightest attacking threat . Gave Bonucci the slip a couple of times but most of his shots fell comfortably for Buffon.

Substitutes

Pawel Cibicki – 5 – Youngster

If in doubt, throw a 20-year-old onto the field to try and spark your team into life. He didn’t, but it would be a good experience for him. Likewise for 18-year-old Erdal Rakip’s five minutes on the field.

Erdal Rakip – N/A

Juventus

Gianluigi Buffon – 6 – Stopper

Commanded his defence well when called upon and knew exactly how to deal with anything that was thrown at him. Not much really in hindsight, but it’s a clean sheet, so Gigi won’t be complaining.

Stephan Lichtsteiner  – 5 – Forgotten

Forgot the Swiss was even on the field for pretty much the entire game. Bypassed in the first but made some decent, expected runs in the second. Not a typical performance by his standards.

Leonardo Bonucci – 6 – Resolute

A good word to describe such a player, did his job well and effectively. Does however need to realise he can’t ping a pass like Pirlo, but he still tries to anyway. Every.single.game.

Giorgio Chiellini – 6.5 – Solid

Made a great clearing block from a Malmo cross in the second half and proved sturdy at the back during a rocky first half for the Bianconeri. Was outmuscled a couple of times, which is unlike him.

Simone Padoin – 5 – Played

Can’t give much of a run-down of Padoin’s performance as he didn’t really do much. Is picked for his form has been clear to see and deserved to start, but lacked in anything truly spectacular.

Claudio Marchisio – 6 – Improvement

On assessment of prior games, Marchisio was definitely better. Was unlucky on two occasions with the fact his legs aren’t long enough, or getting high enough to bring down two balls that should have led to goals. Made a great defence splitting ball for Llorente’s opener however, which was of vital important.

Andrea Pirlo – 5.5 – Different

It wasn’t your typical Pirlo performance, with some passes being exquisite whilst some were just plain lazy, including one pass following a poor free-kick by the magician himself that led to a Malmo counter. Wasted a few good freekicks too.

Paul Pogba – 6 – Worker

Worked well during the game and grabbed an assist for his troubles. Impressed on occasion with some good passing but failed to show the flair we know he has.

Arturo Vidal – 5 – Slacked

Every Juventus fan must just be asking what has happened to their Chilean. Immense last season, he has failed to shine thus far and it was evident today. Sloppy passes are still in his game as he makes problems for himself. Mind must be on other things.

Carlos Tevez – 7 – Goalscorer

You know a good striker by their movement alone and Tevez does that with a plomb. Twists and turns from his defenders with ease and got a fairly deserved goal to clinch all three points at the end with a smart finish.

Fernando Llorente – 6.5 – Matchwinner

Scored the goal which gave his team a massive three points and brought a dire game into some form of worth. Took his goal cooly as he rounded Olsen. Made way for Morata with about twenty left on the clock.

Substitutes

Alvaro Morata – 5 – Miss

Arrived onto the scene with time to shine, ran about a bit before missing from point blank range when it was easier to score, smashing his effort onto the bar from a Tevez cut-back.

Roberto Pereyra – 5 – Booking

Only gets a rating and adjective because he came on with about seven minutes to go and got the first booking of the game after being on the field for 90 seconds.

 

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