About five minutes into Juventus match with Atletico Madrid, there was a buzz around the Allianz Stadium. Rumour had it that Rihanna was in the building. And soon enough pictures surfaced of the Barbadian singer in her No.20 shirt.
However, it was a fresh faced Argentine that stole the show on Tuesday evening. Paulo Dybala’s impossible freekick gave Juventus a 1-0 win and all three points, which means they will top Group D.
“I think Dybala scored a goal that we couldn’t have foreseen,” coach Maurizio Sarri stated. “The first thing a coach thinks is ‘f**k, why are you shooting from there’,” such was the audacity of his attempt.
In reality though, you’d expect a goalkeeper like Jan Oblak to do better.
That should take nothing away from the Argentine’s overall performance. Dybala was Juventus’ best player on the night, causing every Atletico defender problems, in particular Renan Lodi.
His control and technique were on show as he attempted to pick apart the Rojiblancos backline, and his 10th freekick goal for Juventus puts the Bianconeri in an excellent position with regards the knockout stage draw.
Dybala is well and truly out of Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow.
Where art thou Ronaldo
That brings us nicely onto the Portuguese superstar himself. Another poor showing and although Sarri kept him on so as to ‘get a goal and give him confidence’. More is expected of the 34-year-old.
There was even one telling moment which epitomises the fact Ronaldo is getting older and isn’t the blistering winger of old. When in on goal from the halfway line, with clear space in front of him, he was easily caught by Thomas Partey, before blasting a shot into the stands. He is human after all.
His most memorable moment was when he broke the corner flag.
De Ligt dazzles
All the focus is rightly on the Juventus frontline, but at the other end Matthijs de Ligt was superlative. Commanding, tidy on the ball, and fearless, he looked all the player the Bianconeri had hoped he would be.
His almost weekly handball exploits brushed to the side, a last ditch tackle on Angel Correa summed up a perfect night for the Dutch youngster.
