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Juventus huffed and puffed but eventually raced to an emphatic 4-0 win over relegation-battling Lecce at home as they marked their first Serie A game in over three months with a win.
Paulo Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo (from the spot), Gonzalo Higuain and Matthijs de Ligt all got on the score-sheet as Juventus moved seven points clear at the top of the Serie A summit.
Lecce, who were down to 10 men just after the half-hour mark following Fabio Lucioni's red card, punched well above their weights with some excellent defending, but the gulf in quality eventually showed.
On that note, let us have a look at the hits and flops in Juventus' 4-0 win over Lecce at the Allianz stadium:
Hits and flops from Juventus' 4-0 win over Lecce:
Hit: Douglas Costa
Despite playing for less than 40 minutes, Diego Costa had more impact than most of his teammates. His speed and dynamism fired up the Bianconeri who were toiling and appeared toothless up until that point.
The Brazilian almost made an instant impact after coming on in the 52nd minute. He darted down the right and cut back inside the area, only for his cross to go painfully off target. Costa did, however, manage to bag an assist later in the match for De Ligt with a wicked cross. He was a thorn in Lecce's flesh with his energetic runs and turned in a Man of the Match display for Juventus.
Flop: Cristiano Ronaldo
It's no secret that Cristiano Ronaldo has been rusty since the restart, and last night was another frustrating outing for the Portugal captain. He of course bagged a goal and an assist apiece, but he could've easily had a hat-trick on the night.
Either side of his successful spotkick, the 35-year old blazed his header into row Z during the game's early exchanges before seeing his header cleared just off the line in the second stanza.
It was starkly similar to the way the Juventus attacker dispatched one against Bologna last week, so full marks there for powerful execution. However, the fact remains that Ronaldo once again struggled to score from open play.
The Juventus marksman got himself involved in the thick of things as the match wore on, but overall he left a lot to be desired.
Hit: Rodrigo Bentancur
The midfield metronome Rodrigo Bentancur turned 23 recently, and put up another brilliant display, arguably the best by any Juventus player on the night.
Bentancur was electric, and busy in breaking Lecce's movements with crucial interceptions while also driving Juventus forward with defence-splitting passes.
With a staggering 91% pass success, the Uruguayan was also dominant in the air - winning four of his five aerial duels - and produced a remarkable piece of defending when he stormed down the field to dispossess Filippo Falco after Matthijs de Ligt was caught off guard.
Flop: Federico Bernardeschi
Federico Bernardeschi can be very frustrating to watch. He was overly active on the right flank, but more often than not, was flagged for offside, which was down to poor positional play rather than mistimed runs.
In the first-half itself, the 26-year-old's hyper-reactionary approach and poor positioning saw too many Juventus attacks fizzle out like a damp firecracker.
Moreover, Bernardeschi even fumbled a gilt-edged opportunity in the first stanza. After Ronaldo missed an open header, the Italy international inexplicably contrived to blaze another chance over the bar when scoring seemed the easier option.
Hit: Lecce's defending
Well, at least for a good 50 minutes, the Salentini, despite going down to 10 men after half an hour, managed to take the sting out of Juventus with a composed and well organised defence. Lecce tracked back when the hosts had the ball, forcing the hosts to contend with hopeful punts in and around the opposition box.
Besides the Ronaldo and Bernardeschi chances in the first half, Juventus well and truly struggled to create scoring opportunities. However the gulf in class as well as numerical disadvantage eventually caught up with Lecce. The visitors looked tired and spent as the match wore on.
The scoreline didn't paint the real picture, but due credit goes to Lecce for their brave and resolute showing.
