Juventus 2-1 Lyon: Player Ratings as Bianconeri Crash Out on Away Goals
By Tom Gott
Juventus picked up a 2-1 win over Lyon in Friday's Champions League last-16 tie, but were still sent crashing out of the competition thanks to Lyon's away goal.
Lyon's early positivity was rewarded with a penalty after just ten minutes as Houssem Aouar was controversially deemed to be tripped in the box, and Memphis Depay converted a delightful Panenka to extend the French side's lead. However, hero became villain soon after as Depay's questionable handball gave Cristiano Ronaldo the penalty he needed to equalise shortly before the break.
Juventus controlled proceedings in the second half and needed 15 minutes to grab a goal through Ronaldo's long-range drive. The Italian side pushed and pushed, missing two great headers which could have sealed their spot in the next round, but Lyon held firm and were the ones celebrating when the whistle was blown.
Let's get into some player ratings.
JUVENTUS
1. Goalkeeper & Defenders
Wojciech Szczęsny (GK) - 6/10 - Helpless to stop the penalty and didn't really have much to do after that.
Juan Cuadrado (RB) - 5/10 - Played with a little too much urgency and was guilty of needlessly losing possession with some rushed passes.
Matthijs de Ligt (CB) - 6/10 - Enjoyed a tough battle with countryman Depay and generally came out on top throughout.
Leonardo Bonucci (CB) - 6/10 - Solid at the back but missed an outstanding chance to bag what could have been a winning goal.
Alex Sandro (LB) - 7/10 - A real threat in the second half, using his pace and creativity to cause countless problems down the left.
2. Midfielders
Rodrigo Bentancur (CM) - 6/10 - Unfairly penalised for the penalty but recovered well to pose some real threat in attack.
Miralem Pjanić (CM) - 5/10 - Guilty of a few too many sideways passes before being hauled off after an hour.
Adrien Rabiot (CM) - 6/10 - Lyon struggled to deal with the Frenchman's power and directness with the ball at his feet, but the end product was sadly missing.
3. Forwards
Federico Bernardeschi (RW) - 7/10 - Showcased the kind of creativity and excitement which fans have been begging for this season. Could have netted an excellent solo goal in the first half.
Gonzalo Higuain (ST) - 5/10 - Lack of mobility was exposed by Lyon's defensive line, who sat back and marshalled Higuain all night.
Cristiano Ronaldo (LW) - 8/10 - Endured a tough start but soon went full Ronaldo, stealing the show with a great goal.
4. Substitutes
Aaron Ramsey - 6/10
Danilo - 6/10
Paulo Dybala - N/A
Marco Olivieri - 6/10
LYON
5. Goalkeeper & Defenders
Anthony Lopes (GK) - 6/10 - Made a fantastic save to deny Ronaldo from a first-half free kick but could do very little about the goals.
Jason Denayer (CB) - 6/10 - Solid enough during his time on the pitch. Enjoyed dealing with crosses towards Higuain.
Marcelo (CB) - 7/10 - Made a ridiculous challenge to deny Bernadeschi what would have been a certain goal. A real tie-winner.
Fernando Marçal (CB) - 5/10 - Found Bernardeschi far too much to deal with for the first hour and looked to be playing catch-up.
6. Midfielders
Léo Dubois (RM) - 4/10 - Energetic early on but was completely overwhelmed by Ronaldo...which is fair enough really.
Maxence Caqueret (CM) - 7/10 - A solid European debut from the 20-year-old, who played with a real fearlessness as he ran at Juve's defence.
Bruno Guimarães (CM) - 5/10 - Struggled at the base of Lyon's midfield, failing to protect the defence or bring anything to the attack.
Houssem Aouar (CM) - 7/10 - Was outstanding early on, dribbling around Juve's defence and spraying passes around, and was Lyon's main way out of the defence all evening.
Maxwel Cornet (LM) - 6/10 - Impressed in the first half but saw his impact fade as he was tasked with more defending after the break.
7. Forwards
Memphis Depay (ST) - 6/10 - Took his penalty with real swagger but looked deflated after controversially giving one away. Looked up for it but struggled to translate that into chances.
Karl Toko Ekambi (ST) - 6/10 - A surprise starter, he looked threatening but was quickly swallowed up by Juve's back line. Withdrawn shortly after the hour mark.
8. Substitutes
Joachim Andersen - 5/10
Moussa Dembélé - 6/10
Jeff Reine-Adelaide - 6/10
Kenny Tete - N/A
Thiago Mendes - N/A