Juventus: Top 3 performances from Coppa Italia second leg
Juventus didn’t score a goal, but a few players distinguished themselves.
Although Juventus did not manage to get a goal past Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Bianconeri will face Napoli in the final of the Coppa Italia on Wednesday. They struggled in the attacking third against a 10-man Milan and will need to greatly up their performance against Napoli, but they should have confidence that their strong defense can carry the day.
Here were the top three individual performances from Juve’s somewhat disappointing return to the pitch.
RB Danilo
Danilo earned the start at right back over regular Juan Cuadrado, and he greatly impressed the Juventus faithful. The experienced Brazilian had a lot to do on the right-hand side of the formation, because Paulo Dybala spent most of his time exchanging passes with striker Cristiano Ronaldo in an inside role. Therefore, Danilo was tasked with providing width and service, feeding Dybala whenever he could.
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The result was a strong performance on both ends of the pitch. Danilo showed his quality in defense throughout the game, shutting down his flank and recording four tackles in 85 minutes of work, per WhoScored.com. He even added a pair of key passes and accurate crosses.
CB Matthijs de Ligt
It’s easy for Matthijs de Ligt’s performance against Milan to be overlooked, but he played a crucial role in another tidy clean sheet for the home side.
De Ligt did not put a single foot wrong defensively and was just as useful in starting attacks as center back partner Leonardo Bonucci, who is arguably the world’s best passing center back.
The young Dutch defender showed his high-class ability by completing nearly 95 percent of his passes. He will be one of Juve’s most important players, once again, in the Coppa Italia final.
CM Rodrigo Bentancur
By far the best midfielder in this Juventus side, Rodrigo Bentancur shined for the home side when Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matuidi, Adrien Rabiot, and Sami Khedira couldn’t provide the same influence to Maurizio Sarri’s side.
Bentancur was all over the place, as usual, picking up loose balls and making interventions in midfield to keep Milan stuck near their own half. He led the way with five tackles and added three key passes with a pass completion percentage approaching 95 percent.
Next. 5 takeaways from 0-0 draw with Milan. dark
Going forward, Bentancur is one of the Bianconeri’s biggest star players and a true building block for the Old Lady. At the age of 22, Bentancur has what it takes to be one of Serie A’s best midfielders for years to come.