Paulo Dybala scored twice in three minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for Juventus on Tuesday night.
There Champions League clash with Lokomotiv Moscow at home suffered a setback when Aleksey Miranchuk took advantage of some slack defending to break the deadlock half an hour into proceedings.
Juve were being frustrated by a stubborn away side but a moment of magic from Dybala drew them level in the 77th minute. Afforded a little space outside the area, the Argentine didn’t hesitate as he curled a delightful effort past the hapless Guilherme in goal.
A stinging Alex Sandro shot from range a couple of minutes later was pushed away by the keeper but only into the path of Dybala who made no mistake.
Here, we rate the performances of the Juve players.
STARTING XI (4-3-2-1)
Szczesny 5 – Could’ve done better to parry the ball away from danger for Lokomotiv’s goal. Little else to do.
Cuadrado 7 – Growing accustomed to being a makeshift right-back and will be credited with an assist for the equaliser.
Bonucci 4 – Should’ve done better with a header from Pjanic’s free-kick. Was beaten easily by Joao Mario in the build up to the opener.
De Ligt 5 – Shares blame for the goal conceded as he got drawn out of position and misjudged his leap for a header.
Sandro 6 – Energetic as ever and regularly got involved in the attack. His fierce shot was parried to Dybala who slotted away the winner.
Khedira 4 – In a congested central area, the German was not the solution and therefore part of the problem. Hooked early in the second half.
Pjanic 7 – Worked hard to create chances and came up with five key passes. Remove him and that midfield will struggle.
Matuidi 6 – Covered a lot of ground and allowed Sandro to fly forward freely.
Bentancur 6 – Didn’t do badly behind the front two in the first half but Juve worked better when he dropped deep and Dybala took over his role.
Dybala 8 – Buzzed about in the final third all game and showed his class with two quickfire goals – the first a scorcher – to rescue Juventus.
Ronaldo 5 – Struggled for opportunities but also missed a glorious one in the 19th minute. Still had a few wild efforts but only tested the keeper with the last kick of the match.
⚽️ 77'
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) October 22, 2019
⚽️ 80'
Paulo Dybala turns the game on its head to put Juventus ahead. #UCL pic.twitter.com/t2NbZyLNAX
SUBS
Higuain (48′) 5 – Was a target up front that Juve could work around in the second half.
Rabiot (65′) 5 – Provided more drive from midfield than Matuidi did as Juve went in search of an eaqualiser.
Bernadeschi (81′) N/A – Replaced Dybala in the final moments.
