Juventus 2-1 Lokomotiv Moscow: 3 talking points | UEFA Champions League 2019-20

#1 Paulo Dybala was the difference-maker

Juventus v Lokomotiv Moskva: Group D - UEFA Champions League

As recently as two years ago, Paulo Dybala had the world at his feet and was earmarked as one of the stars o the future. The Argentine international had just guided Juventus to the final of the Champions League, starring with 19 goals in all competitions, as Max Allegri's side narrowly missed out on a treble.

A season later, he stepped it up several notches and weighed in with 26 goals on all fronts. But despite his monstrous club form Dybala faced uncertainty going into the World Cup, as his similarity of roles with Lionel Messi meant that both men could not be deployed together.

Ultimately, he made it to Russia but only played a bit-part role as La Albiceleste got dumped at the Round-of-16 stage.

Following his disastrous World Cup campaign, Dybala returned to the club scene to see his position as the top dog usurped by another superstar - this time in the person of Messi's great rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who had just completed a mega move to Juventus.

That resulted in a drastic reduction in Dybala's role. He was restricted to just 24 starts in the league last season, scoring only five goals.

Things were expected to get progressively worse and he was widely tipped to leave Turin over the summer, with Manchester United and Tottenham among his reported suitors. But both deals broke down at the last minute, and Dybala stayed put.

He has starred sparingly this season but was handed a rare start against Lokomotiv. And after spurning a good chance to level matters at the start of the second half, Dybala sprung to life with two well-taken goals with less than 15 minutes left in the game.

The first of those was a thing of beauty, with the 25-year-old picking the ball up from Juan Cuadrado on the edge of the box. He set himself up with a right-footed touch before unleashing an unstoppable curler into the back of the net with his trusted left foot.

The second saw him show his predatory instincts as he latched on to a parry by Guilherme and slotted under the goalkeeper to complete the comeback victory.

Despite his recent struggles, Dybala remains a playmaker of the highest quality. And he reminded everyone of that with his performance against Lokomotiv Moscow.