Cristiano Ronaldo‘s away goal in Amsterdam has given Juventus the edge in their Champions League quarter-final against Ajax after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Juve were often under the cosh as Ajax put in a robust, thrilling display, but the veteran Italian side held on for a draw after Ronaldo’s header had given them the first-half lead.
Here’s a closer look at how the players performed.
STARTING XI
Wojciech Szczesny 7 – Made one excellent first-half save. Could do nothing for Ajax’s goal, and was assured otherwise.
Joao Cancelo 7 – Contributed to what has fast become a typical Juventus goal: Cancelo cross, Ronaldo scores. Good going forward as always, and dealt with Ajax’s attacking threat well.
Daniele Rugani 6 – Actually looked the more assured centre-back between himself and senior colleague Bonucci. Together, their experience helped keep Ajax at bay when Juve were under the cosh.
Leonardo Bonucci 6 – Bonucci is a great defender on his own right but nights like these show how much he relies on his partnership with Giorgio Chiellini. He was the weaker Juve centre-back on Wednesday, if only by a little.
Alex Sandro 7 – A quiet but solidly assured performance at left-back. Many of Ajax’s attacks came down his side, but none succeeded, and even the chances created were because the Dutch were overloading on Cancelo on the other flank.
Rodrigo Bentancur 8 – Juventus’ best player in midfield. The Uruguayan mopped up Ajax attacks and shielded his back four with determination, and was a threat going forward as well.
Miralem Pjanic 6 – Slightly below his best from the Bosnian, whose passing was occasionally sloppy. In the second half he struggled to keep Juve in control in midfield, though he did a good job of protecting his defence.
Blaise Matuidi 7 – Solid if unspectacular in midfield, as he carried out his box-to-box role with typical industry. Was a little unlucky to be the man subbed off when Massimiliano Allegri decided to make an attacking change.
Federico Bernardeschi 5 – It was his error that led to Ajax’s equaliser. Though he was full of energy, this wasn’t a good performance from the Italian – no player lost possession more times than Bernardeschi’s seven.
Cristiano Ronaldo 7 – Scored the crucial goal of the evening, giving Juventus their away goal, but as Ajax became more dominant he saw little of the ball, and tried too hard to pull off the extraordinary when he did get possession.
Mario Mandzukic 6 – Captain on the night in the absence of Chiellini, Mandzukic did his usual job of being a good support act for Ronaldo in attack. Though he was typically strong in the air, he had a strangely quiet game otherwise.
SUBSTITUTES
Douglas Costa 7 – A livewire in attack during an excellent cameo. Spoiled one good run by drifting in a poor cross, but ended another with a fierce shot that struck the post.
Paulo Dybala 6 – The Argentine will have been disappointed not to start – but his second-half cameo did little to convince Allegri he’d made the wrong call.
Sami Khedira N/A – Came on with barely any time left to have an impact on proceedings.
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