Juventus beat Sampdoria 3-2 at the Allianz Stadium to secure back-to-back victories for the first time in the 2021-22 Serie A.
Goals from Paulo Dybala, Leonardo Bonucci and Manuel Locatelli helped the Bianconeri take all three points. That was after Sampdoria had twice pegged back Juventus through Maya Yoshida and Antonio Candreva.
The hosts started the match brightly and found the breakthrough as early as the 10th minute with a fine strike from Dybala, who soon went off injured. A handball from Nicola Murru gave the Bianconeri a chance to double their advantage from the spot on the cusp of half-time, and Bonucci made no mistake.
La Samp responded almost immediately through Yoshida, who halved the deficit. After Locatelli restored Juventus' two-goal lead, Sampdoria made it 3-2 seven minutes from time. But they couldn't restore parity as Juventus hung on to an unconvincing win to climb up the standings.
On that note, here are the Juventus player ratings in the game:
Mattia Perin - 6/10
The Juventus custodian couldn't keep out either of Sampdoria's goals. But there was little else for him to worry about. Admittedly, his ball-distribution was poor on the night.
Juan Cuadrado - 7/10
Cuadrado kept Sampdoria on their toes, linking up well with the Juventus attackers and laid a few good crosses too.
Leonardo Bonucci - 7.5/10
The veteran Juventus star was sound in defence. But he made a bigger impact at the other end of the pitch, creating a decent chance, and also dispatched a penalty.
Matthijs de Ligt - 7.5/10
Another fine performance from De Ligt today, who was positionally sound and showed excellent vision too.
Alex Sandro - 7.5/10
His high-pressing caused a lot of problems to Sampdoria's defence in the first half. Sandro came up trumps defensively too whenever the visitors pushed forward, making two vital interceptions.
Federico Chiesa - 6/10
The Euro 2020 winner had another stinker as he looked disinterested for large swathes of the game. But on switching to the left, Chiesa seemed more comfortable, playing a key role in creating Juventus' third goal.
Manuel Locatelli - 8/10
Locatelli produced another impressive outing for Juventus. His switches of play were particularly eye-catching, while his tee-up for Dybala's opening goal was sublime.
Rodrigo Bentancur - 7/10
It was a neat display from the Uruguayan, who returned to his preferred box-to-box role. He made life difficult for La Samp with his key interceptions and well-timed challenges.
Federico Bernardeschi - 5/10
After impressing off the bench in the game against Spezia, Bernardeschi earned a start, but failed to impress. He struggled to get into the game, making only 23 passes in 70 minutes of action (completing 17 of them). Bernardeschi also gave away the ball on a few occasions.
Paulo Dybala - 7.5/10
Dybala was Juventus' best player during the game's opening exchanges. He opened the scoring with a sumptuous finish, and could've even had a couple of assists had his teammates been clinical with their finishing. Dybala's evening was unfortunately cut short by an injury he sustained in the first half.
Alvaro Morata - 5/10
He missed a good chance early on in a one-on-one situation, and Morata never recovered after that.
Ratings of Juventus substitutes against Sampdoria
Dejan Kulusevski - 6/10
It was a disappointing performance from Kulusevski, but he salvaged some pride with a fine assist for Locatelli.
Giorgio Chiellini - 6/10
The veteran Juventus star made one vital interception after coming on.
Aaron Ramsey - 6/10
He brilliantly intercepted Augello's pass and created a chance for Locatelli, which the forward ended up skying..
Weston McKennie - 5/10
The American, made no key passes, and was largely a non-factor.
Moise Kean - 6/10
Kean should have been brought on earlier, as he was lively, making some promising first touches and completing a few passes.