Serie A | Pisa 0-1 Juventus | Player Ratings – Kalulu, McKennie & Yildiz impress

Juventus battled to a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Pisa on Saturday evening, with an own goal from Arturo Calabresi and a late goal from Kenan Yildiz the only thing separating the two teams.

Football Italia’s Player of the Match was Weston McKennie, for his impressive work rate and involvement in the winning goal.

Pisa: Semper 7; Canestrelli 6, Caracciolo 6.5, Calabresi 5; Toure 6, Leris 6, Aebischer 5.5, Vural 6, Angori 6.5; Moreo 6, Tramoni 6.5

Best Pisa player: Adrian Semper – The Pisa goalkeeper made five saves on a busy night in between the posts for the home side. Was unlucky to get beaten by a scrappy own goal and put in a good account of himself.

Lowest Pisa rating: Arturo Calabresi – Aside from his own goal, which put the cherry on top for an otherwise awful evening, the defender was beaten far too often and struggled to win his duels all evening.

Coach: Alberto Gilardino 6.5 – Nearly did enough with his team to pick up a vital point, if it were not for the unfortunate own goal. Accepting his side would likely not dominate possession, Gilardino set them up well to counter the Bianconeri but were unable to find the back of the net.

Juventus: Di Gregorio 6; Kalulu 7, Bremer 6, Kelly 6; Cambiaso 6 (Kostic N/A), Thuram 5.5, Locatelli 6.5 (Zhegrova 6), McKennie 7, Koopmeiners 5.5; Yildiz 7

Best Juventus player: Weston McKennie – Whilst grading the same as Kalulu and Yildiz, think McKennie deserves his flowers for improving steadily under Spalletti and showing his versatility in a number of roles. Was tenacious this evening, winning a lot of his duels and helping cause the chaos with a low cross for the opening goal.

Lowest Juventus rating: Bremer – Still looking a way off the pace he set before his ACL injury last season, the Brazilian looked a little shaky in the back three.

Coach: Luciano Spalletti 7 – Whilst it was not a pretty win, and one that took its sweet time in arriving, the coach continues to show his Juventus are capable of overcoming the various tests thrown their way.

You can relive all the action from Saturday’s Serie A games, as it happened, on our Liveblog.