Juventus: 5 takeaways from 4-0 win over Lecce

What we learned from Juventus’ 4-0 win against relegation candidates Lecce.

Juventus benefited from a controversial first-half red card, tearing apart Lecce 4-0 at the Allianz Stadium. It took the Old Lady a while to wake up despite facing a team reduced to 10 men, so Maurizio Sarri still has plenty of work to do despite the gaudy scoreline.

Here are five takeaways from the team’s second victory in two games since Serie A’s restart.

Matthijs de Ligt is a crucial player

Matthijs de Ligt now has three goals on the season for Juventus, meaning he’s scored as many goals as Miralem Pjanic and more goals than several attacking players, including Federico Bernardeschi.

The goal itself was an easy one for de Ligt, as Lecce made a major communication blunder inside the six-yard box to gift a header from point-blank range that the former Ajax captain graciously drilled in to the ground.

De Ligt has been one of Juve’s best players since Italian football’s return. He’s made smart interceptions, put his body on the line to block shots, kept things calm with his passing, and, as his goal against Lecce shows, even done the work to help the attack.

It’s remarkable how de Ligt has figured out how to excel in Serie A after a rough start to the season. He’s a star player for the Bianconeri and has been absolutely worth the money.