Udinese 2-2 Juventus: Bianconeri player ratings as Juve squander two-goal lead | Serie A 2021-22
Juventus kickstarted their new Serie A campaign on a sour note, as they could only muster a 2-2 draw away to Udinese despite being two goals up at half-time.
In his first game of his second spell as manager, Massimiliano Allegri made several bold decisions in his starting lineup. Cristiano Ronaldo and Giorgio Chiellini were notable absentees, with Paulo Dybala named the team captain.
It took just three minutes for the Argentina international to put Juventus ahead after a well-worked move down the right flank. Rodrigo Bentancur cut the ball back into the area for Dybala to sweep home with a one-time finish.
The visitors then doubled their lead 20 minutes later, and this time, it was Dybala who turned provider. The 27-year-old sent in a delightful crossfield ball that bypassed the Udinese defence, which Juan Cuadrado controlled excellently before calmly slotting past Marco Silvestri.
Leading two-nil at half-time, Juventus were seemingly cruising their way to all three points. However, the Turin giants conspired to shoot themselves in the foot with what was an atrocious second-half display.
It took just five minutes after the restart for the hosts to be handed a lifeline after Wojciech Szczesny made a hash of a routine save before fouling Tolgay Arslan in the area.
Referee Ivano Pezzuto wasted no time in pointing to the spot, and Roberto Pereyra stepped up to send the Juventus goalkeeper the wrong way and halve the deficit.
The visitors largely struggled to get going for most of the second half, with Alvaro Morata and Rodrigo Bentancur hitting the post.
Udinese made Juventus pay for their lapses, grabbing a deserved equaliser in the 84th minute when Gerard Deulofeu pounced on another Szczesny error to draw his team level. The Juventus goalkeeper dilly-dallied when given a backpass, and was promptly closed down by two Udinese attackers.
Cristiano Ronaldo thought he scored a late winner in the third minute of injury time, and promptly removed his shirt in celebration. However, the visitors' joy was cut short after VAR disallowed the goal for a marginal offside.
This was far from the start Juventus would have liked in their quest to reclaim the Serie A title. They now turn their attention to the visit of newly promoted Empoli next weekend. Meanwhile, Udinese will next play host to another newly promoted side, Venezia, on Friday.
On that note, here is how Juventus players fared in the game.
Wojciech Szczesny - 3/10
Juventus were coasting to glory until their goalkeeper handed Udinese an unlikely point with two school-boy errors. He should have comfortably saved Tolgay Arslan's shot at the start of the second half, while his indecision from Leonardo Bonucci's backpass led to the second goal.
Alex Sandro - 5.5/10
Alex Sandro made some attacking runs down the left channel. He, however, struggled to deal with the pace of Deulofeu on the flanks in the second half.
Leonardo Bonucci - 5.5./10
Leonardo Bonucci was below his dominant best, and failed to fully marshall the defence in Giorgio Chiellini's absence. It was his backpass to Szczesny that led to Udinese's equaliser.
Matthijs de Ligt - 6/10
The Netherlands international made two clearances and as many interceptions, while posting a passing accuracy of 91.3%.
Danilo - 5/10
Danilo did not offer too much going forward, and was also defensively suspect. He was lucky to escape being penalised for a foul in the area.
Federico Bernardeschi - 5.5/10
Bernardeshi did not make much of an impact in attack before he was replaced by Dejan Kulusevski on the hour mark.
Aaron Ramsey - 5.5/10
Ramsey was largely anonymous for most of the game, but posted a 93.6% passing accuracy before leaving the field for Chiellini in the 60th minute.
Rodrigo Bentancur - 7.5/10
The Uruguay international was one of the brightest sparks for Juventus in attack, and caused problems for the hosts with his directness. The 24-year-old provided the assist for the game's opener, and unluckily hit the post with a well-struck shot in the second half.
Juan Cuadrado - 7.5/10
Cuadrado provided width in attack for Juventus, and also tracked back to help Danilo with his defensive duties. He scored a well-taken goal midway through the first half, but was replaced by Federico Chiesa in the 73rd minute.
Paulo Dybala - 8.5/10
Dybala has been tipped to have a renaissance under Massimiliano Allegri as he began the new era with a standout display for Juventus. He opened the scoring in the third minute, and provided the assist for his side's second goal. Dybala was one of the few Juventus players pushing for a winner after the Bianconeri's lead had vanished.
Alvaro Morata - 5.5/10
Alvaro Morata failed to hit the target with any of his three shots on the night as his teammates struggled to find him. He hit the post with a header in the second half, but should arguably have done better with his effort.
Ratings of Juventus substitutes
Giorgio Chiellini - 5/10
The experienced Italy international was brought on in the 58th minute to shore up the Juventus defence, but his introduction did not have the desired impact.
Cristiano Ronaldo - 6/10
The Portugal international looked off the pace in the 30 minutes he spent on the field, and missed a golden chance when he headed wide despite being unmarked. He thought he scored an injury-time winner, but a double disappointment saw him booked for excessive celebration before the goal was chalked off.
Dejan Kulusevski - 5.5/10
Kulusevski entered the fray on the hour mark and put the Udinese defence on the back foot with his pace.
Federico Chiesa - 6/10
Chiesa came on for Juan Cuadrado in the 74th minute, and provided a pin-point delivery for Ronaldo's injury-time goal, which was disallowed.
Manuel Locatelli - N/A
The Italy international came on in the final minute of the game, and barely had a touch of the ball.
You may also like: Fabrizio Romano's Transfer Roundup: Arsenal transfer news, Update on Harry Kane's future, and more.