Player ratings: Juventus 3-1 Udinese – Yildiz puts the cherry on top

Juventus picked up their first victory since September 13 with a 3-1 Serie A victory against Udinese under interim head coach Massimo Brambilla on Thursday evening, with Kenan Yildiz once again putting in one of Juve’s better performances. 

Below are the player ratings from an interesting evening in Turin. 

The Juve no.10 won and converted a penalty in second-half injury-time, which followed Bianconeri goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Gatti. Nicolo Zaniolo had made it 1-1 moments before half-time. 

You can see how the action unfolded on the Football Italia Liveblog.

Juventus: Di Gregorio 6; Kalulu 6, Gatti 6.5, Kelly 6; Cambiaso 6, McKennie 6, Locatelli 6, Kostic 6.5; Yildiz 7; Openda 6.5, Vlahovic 6.5. 

Best Juventus player: Yildiz 7 – Yildiz continues to show why he is rated so highly in Bianconeri circles. He tested Okoye with a few shots from distance, but showed that he is capable of creating chances for himself from nothing. Should have made it 3-1 in injury time, but then won and converted a penalty that did restore his side’s two-goal advantage a few moments later. 

Coach: Massimo Brambilla 6.5 – Difficult circumstances for the interim Juventus head coach, who has only had since Monday to prepare the team following the sacking of Igor Tudor. The goal drought is over, though, and the team responded well despite the Udinese equaliser just before half-time. Not the most thrilling of Juventus performances by any means, but a valuable three points have been secured. 

Udinese: Okoye 5; Goglichidze 4, Kabasele 6, Solet 6; Ehizibue 6, Piotrowski 5.5, Karlstrom 6, Atta 6, Kamara 6; Zaniolo 6.5, Davis 5.

Coach: Kosta Runjaic –  The Udinese head coach will have been pleased with the way that his side ended the first-half, finding an equaliser just before the interval through Zaniolo, but that was his side’s only real sign of momentum across the 90. They did not come out for the second half with the same intensity that they finished the second, and ultimately let Juventus back into the game. 

Best Udinese player: Zaniolo 6.5 – The most composed man in the penalty area when the opportunity fell for him moments before half-time. Two goals in his last three Serie A appearances for Udinese now.