Nico Gonzalez’s fourth season goal helped Juventus secure a 2-0 win over Monza, but Kenan Yildiz received an avoidable red card, leaving the Bianconeri down to ten men for the entire second half.
Player Ratings
Juventus: Di Gregorio 6; Kalulu 6, Veiga 6.5, Kelly 6; McKennie 6, Locatelli 6.5, K. Thuram 7 (58′ Weah), Cambiaso 5.5 (58′ Savona 5.5); Nico Gonzalez 7.5 (74′ Alberto Costa 6), Yildiz 3; Kolo Muani 7. Coach: Tudor 6.5
Best Juventus player: Nico Gonzalez 7.5 – Unlocked the game with a stunning goal from distance and was dangerous on multiple occasions. He created the best Bianconeri chances today. Juventus will need more of this in the upcoming matches with Kenan Yildiz suspended.
Lowest Juventus rating: Yildiz 3 – An unnecessary foul on Bianco ended his game seconds before the halftime break. A clear red card, which will be more costly in the next two games against direct rivals Bologna and Lazio. He apologised to the Juventus fans, but there’s no way he could get away with it, and he’ll probably be fined.
Juventus coach: Tudor 6.5 – Juventus created enough chances to justify a deserved victory. They didn’t lose control in the second half despite being one man down. They are back in fourth, but Bologna, their next opponents, play tomorrow. He knows he has a long way to go to secure Champions League qualification.
Monza: Turati 6; Pereira 5, Caldirola 5.5, Carboni 5.5; Birindelli 6 (63′ Petagna 5.5), Castrovilli 6 (74′ Sensi 6), Bianco 6, Akpa Akpro 5.5 (63′ Forson 6), Kyriakopoulos 5.5; Mota Carvalho 5.5, Caprari 5.5.
Best Monza player: Birindelli 6 – His father Alessandro won many titles with Juve, and Samuele had scored in the reverse fixture. He had one more chance today, but his shot from the edge of the box was too weak. Didn’t do anything special, but Monza didn’t suffer much down that flank.
Lowest Monza rating: Pedro Pereira 5 – Looked very confused defensively, and Juventus could have scored more than just two goals in the first half.
Monza coach: Nesta 6 – A cursed season, Monza have never looked strong enough to even compete for survival. His lads tried until the very end to get back into the game today, but the quality isn’t there.
