Juventus 2-0 AS Roma: 5 hits and flops as Cristiano Ronaldo inspires champions beyond the Giallorossi | Serie A 2020-21
Juventus moved above AS Roma on the Serie A table after a commanding 2-0 win at the Allianz Stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo was on target for the holders again while an own goal from Roger Ibañez sealed the win for Juventus, who're now up to third, just five points off leaders Inter Milan.
Even though the Giallorossi held more possession (52%-48%) and attempted more shots on goal (14-3), they lacked the precision to carve out many good opportunities to score.
Credit to former Roma star Wojciech Szczesny too, as the Polish custodian made some good saves and shut out his old colleagues.
La Magica lost for the second time in four league games while Juventus continued their march towards the top.
Here are the hits and flops from the match:
Hit: Weston McKennie (Juventus)
Even though he's yet to fully convince in Juventus colors, McKennie turned in another solid performance tonight, which suggests he's firmly settling into the side.
The 22-year-old American fireball ran rings around the visitors with his electric pace and slick passes, releasing the likes of Ronaldo and Morata with some excellent balls forward.
His ability to find pockets of space was eye-catching and even though he didn't take a crack at goal himself, he proved to be a thorn in Roma's flesh with his all-round ability.
This still isn't the starlet's best, but if he adds consistency to his game, and delivers peaches like this, McKennie could truly liberate himself.
Flop: Bryan Cristante (AS Roma)
In a season where the 25-year-old is coming of age despite limited appearances, tonight was tough game for him.
Playing just off striker Borja Mayoral, he tried to drift inside and play off the Spaniard, but Juve's experienced backline didn't give him enough space to work into.
Also, Cristante was the culprit in the build up to Ronaldo's opening goal as the former Atalanta man was beaten way too easily on the ball by Alex Sandro, who then initiated the attack.
He had a good chance to redeem himself late on when he was presented with an excellent opportunity to pull one back for the visitors, but Cristante blazed his effort wide instead.