Player Ratings: Lecce 0-1 Juventus

One could be a bit critical and point the finger at him for parrying Vucinic’s effort into the path of Matri, allowing the substitute to score. Otherwise, he did nothing wrong, and produced one or two fine stops to keep his side in the game till the very end.

The Genoa loanee made his presence felt in the air today, getting his head to almost every ball above chest height that Juventus manufactured, while proving to be a menace at the other end of the pitch as he attacked the ball on set-pieces.

Juventus gave away free-kicks seemingly at will, allowing Oddo numerous opportunities to make something happen from the dead ball. One or two deliveries caused problems, but Lecce were ultimately unable to register anything from his set-pieces. Saw yellow for a thumping challenge on Pepe in the first half.

Began the match well, keeping close watch on Quagliarella, but found things more difficult one Matri came on, and struggled to track the striker or communicate effectively with his defensive colleagues.

Started the match on form, with his fearlessness and incisive running ensuring that the Juventus backline could not rest easy. The Colombian was involved in most of the good for the hosts in the opening half but did not influence proceedings quite as much after the interval, and was booked for scything down Pepe near the touchline on an attempted break.

As the match progressed, he found it more and more difficult to deal with Vucinic and keep up with the general flow of Juventus’s offensive movement. Substituted with eight minutes to go.

For the most part, he was marshalled into submission by the diligent Lichtsteiner, but escaped near the end to tee up Pasquato with a great cross for Lecce’s best chance of the match.

Lasted barely five minutes on the pitch before hobbling off the pitch with an injury.

Looked lively throughout the game with a willingness to run at the Juventus defence, and was able to skip past his marker with ease on more than one occasion. Tested Buffon with a drive from distance at the end of the first half but apart from that effort, his end product was deplorable, with two promising Lecce attacks halted by his erratic shooting at the end of the move. Taken off in the second half.

Did not find much space to operate for most of the game and when he did, took too long to make up his mind, which led to the opening going up in smoke. Went close with a goal-bound effort that was stopped by the legs of Bonucci.

Did his part in ensuring the victory, with two quality saves on Giacomazzi and Di Michele a particular highlight. The veteran keeper will be pleased with his performance and his clean sheet.

Not the most convincing of outings from the Italy international, who caused a few hairs to stand on end with his failure to track the elusive Cuadrado in the first-half, added to his seeming willingness to concede cheap free kicks in his own half, one of which led to a booking in the 64th minute.

Was beaten a bit to easily by Di Michele whenever the two squared up on the pitch, but made up for it with a few last-ditch headers on a few of Lecce’s numerous set piece opportunities.

A relatively quiet game for the centre back this afternoon, but he did have to be alert to make a crucial block on Muriel’s goalbound strike, especially with Buffon struggling to recover.

Solid and dependable down the right flank, the full-back made sure that Mesbah was not given any space to operate, and stuck to his task for the full 90 minutes. Went forward on occasion, including one overlapping run that led to shouts for a penalty after he was felled on the byline.

Hit or miss would be the kind way to describe his distribution today, though he did force two Lecce players into the book after his bursting runs from midfield left them with no choice but to hack him down.

Bossed the midfield today, showing off his impressive range of passing to set numerous Juventus attacks in motion. Was simply a cut above his Lecce counterparts in the centre of the park.

Kept things organized in midfield, and worked well in tandem with Pirlo and Marchisio to subdue Lecce. Chose to get involved in a spot of handbags with Olivera, for which both players were duly booked.

Did not have much joy cutting in from out wide to start, but played with more confidence after the first goal, which came about after his shot was not gathered cleanly by Benassi. Played a few delightful crosses from the flanks and went close again in the second half, with his rasping drive flashing inches wide of the far post.

His afternoon lasted only 23 minute as he failed to make a case for a place in the plans of Antonio Conte. Ballooned one shot high and wide before picking up what appeared to be a facial injury which he could not play through.