Juventus vs. Sporting: Rate the players vote results - Pjanic earns top spot

For the second time this season, the MoTM award was decided by a single vote, with a clear top 3 emerging. In what was a heavily disagreed upon assessment of how the match went, Juventus pulled out a 2-1 win over Sporting CP in their Champions League bout. There were times reading the comments where it seemed like Juventus lost, given the poor overall mood surrounding the game. Well, we won, and here are the results of the votes:

View the standings at any time at this link.

Miralem Pjanic earns the temporary MoTM award with 126 net upvotes, or 68% of voters. In a year of uncertainty in midfield, Pjanic has consistently put in some great performances, especially in important games like tonight. He is our best midfielder, and he’s playing like it. It’s only fitting that he moves into top 3 in the overall rankings for the season, which should really be second if not for Szczesny.

Mario Mandzukic missed out by a single vote with 125 net upvotes, and will have another chance to redeem himself in the form of a poll at the end. He scored the winner, which will give him a fighting chance. He moves into 10th place in the overall rankings for the season.

Douglas Costa earned 121 upvotes despite being on the field for only 10 minutes. His cross to Mandzukic was crucial in securing the win. Maybe (definitely) he should be on the field more often. He moves into 9th place in the overall rankings for the season. Outside the top 3, Chiellini also had a great night earning 114 upvotes, and after that there was a pretty large drop-off.

The bottom three contained some usual suspects. In third last, Max Allegri emerges with 54 net downvotes, or 29% of voters. For Max to earn his upvote, or even neutral, he should probably go ahead and start Daniele Rugani in important games.

Second-last was Juan Cuadrado, who continues a less-than ideal string of Serie A and Champions League performances. A rough night for the Colombian who now ranks 17th in the overall rankings, barely holding a positive overall rating.

The biggest downvote earner of the night was Mehdi Benatia, who pretty much reaffirmed why he shouldn’t be playing in the Champions League. It’s not a stretch to say he’s been one of the worst Juve performers so far this year, if not the worst, and it’s about time his gametime started reflecting that. His playing time needs to start being re-earned. His overall ranking of 21st for the season with an average of 10% downvotes shows his clear lack of preference among voters.

Since it was so close, I’m giving you the opportunity to vote on your MoTM winner. Thanks for voting.

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