Player ratings: Cagliari 1-0 Juventus – Defensive resilience denies Bianconeri

Cagliari held firm to pick up a hard-fought 1-0 victory at home against Juventus, and have Luca Mazzitelli and their defensive unit to thank for the three points at the Unipol Domus on Saturday evening. 

A single goal from Mazzitelli from a set-piece was enough for Cagliari to hold onto against the Bianconeri, who dominated in most statistics and had a penalty decision overturned during the first-half. 

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

Cagliari: Caprile 6.5; Ze Pedro 6.5, Mina 6.5, Luperto 6.5; Palestra 6.5, Gaetano 6.5, Adopo 6, Mazzitelli 7, Obert 6; Kilicsoy 5 (Borrelli 6), S Esposito 5 (Idrissi 6).

Best Cagliari player: Luca Mazzitelli 7 – There was no better time for the 30-year-old to come up with his first goal in Cagliari colours. One clean sweep of the boot from a set-piece was enough for the hosts to hold onto what will be a memorable victory. 

Coach: Fabio Pisacane 7 – It was all about Cagliari’s defensive discipline, resilience and concentration. Cagliari spent the majority of the game camped in their own half, but took advantage of their opportunity when it came, and did a fantastic job to shut Juventus out so effectively and right the way through until the very end. 

Juventus: Perin 6; Kalulu 5.5, Bremer 6, Kelly 6, Cambiaso 5.5 (Conceicao 6); Locatelli 6 (Zhegrova 5), Koopmeiners 5; McKennie 5.5 (Thuram 6), Miretti 6 (Openda 5.5), Yildiz 6.5 (Adzic n/a); David 5.

Best Juventus player: Kenan Yildiz 6.5 – Another performance with glimpses of real quality from the Bianconeri gem, even if things didn’t end up falling for him or his teammates in the final third. He has the ability to take it past opponents in tight spaces and rustle up threatening shots out of nowhere. Eight completed dribbles for him tonight: No other player on the pitch completed more than one.

Coach: Luciano Spalletti – Juventus just couldn’t break down the Cagliari block. They spent most of the match in the opposition half, had a whopping 77.9% of possession, enjoyed a pass accuracy above 90%, but crucially, of their 17 shots, only four ended up on target. Frustrating to say the least.