So I finally got to see this one for myself. There are some areas where I'll agree with Vinman, but other areas I will disagree on.
Overall, yes the refereeing was a bit shoddy. But I've seen far worse. Juve's backline was pretty much horrible in this match save for Balzaretti -- he and Gigi were the only two who basically held it together for us throughout the match. The midfield needs to assert more ball control and short passing.
But one of the major glaring problems we have is in attack. We so miss Trezeguet in there. When we desperately need one- and two-touch passing and shooting, instead we get three- and four-step dribbles, six touches, etc. Palladino didn't play poorly, but Bojinov combined with him left us without any true finishers...which we needed in this one.
Gigi - 7 - Anytime you save a penalty, it's as good as a great goal. He let the ball out and had a bad deflection here and there. But overall he was solid and a big reason we didn't lose.
Balzaretti - 7 Fantastic on defense. But I'm concerned when he's often the guy in the center clearing the ball out. It was as if he was always having to make up for Kovac and Boumsong being out of position or getting beat. Offensively he did little. But defensively he was a rock (save for one slip early in the first half), to all the doubters out there.
Boumsong - 4.5 - Horrid. Defensively, he was always on the wrong foot, playing in the wrong space, letting the ball get by him, and making clearances that put us in the same amount of danger at a slightly different position. Ironically, he was a threat upfield on set pieces -- with some nice headers.
Kovac - 5 - Almost as bad as Boumsong, but not quite. He looks slow. He was often caught off-guard. He was not making contact with the ball when needed. Some of his downfield passes weren't bad, but defensively he was a liability that Gigi and Balza had to cover for.
Birindelli - 5 - The PK wasn't his fault -- that was a lame call and looked like a standard play. But he got burned a lot.
Nedved - 7 - Sure, he got ejected. Still, my MOM. Brilliant lazer of a set piece to put us on top. Very involved and relentless. Few mistakes.
Paro - 5.5 - Won a couple of challenges, but otherwise lost the ball too often. He did have some bright spots creatively helping some things in front of goal, however.
Marchisio - 6 - He played a great game last week. This week he was just pretty good. What he lacked in control he made up for in pressing his opponents, making good challenges, and in accurate deeper passes.
Camoranesi - 6.5 - For two matches running, easily our most creative offensive force on the pitch. Overall I was pleased with his play, and he did not make many mistakes.
Bojinov - 5 - Squandered every opportunity given to him. Held on to the ball too long. He seems to think to much and not just "do" -- the guy didn't seem to have any instincts. Needs to be a little more unselfish and to get rid of the ball much sooner. He added nothing.
Palladino - 6 Good, but not great, match. Was playing a sort of playmaker role, which was partially effective but left us without any real striking threat with Boji playing as he did.
Subs:
Zebina - 5 - Not on the pitch very long, but it only took him all of seven minutes to earn his first yellow.
DD - 5.5 - Can't blame him for injuries and poor refereeing. But he could have done more with his subs. The defense looked poor and disorganized, for one. Our attack, and although the bench had few options, lacked any finishing. But some changes should have been made. More than putting on Zebina, at least.
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