Juventus: 3 takeaways from a vital 3-2 win over Inter

Adrien Rabiot is stating his case to stay

We know that Adrien Rabiot is capable of scoring terrific solo goals. He did so this summer and recently against Lazio. Then at mid-week, Rabiot scored a fantastic opener from range to give Juventus a key boost over Sassuolo.

But Rabiot, in all honesty, helps Juve the most when he’s working hard on defense and adding solidity to that area of the pitch. That’s the role he carried out against Inter to near perfection, even if it is easy to overlook his contributions. With Rodrigo Bentancur turning in another middling performance before being sent off, Rabiot’s intensity became that much more important.

Whereas Aaron Ramsey and Bentancur aren’t really stating their case to be a part of Juve’s future in midfield and Arthur Melo is still struggling to get truly up to speed with Calcio, Rabiot is stepping up when the Bianconeri need him the most.

There’s a lot we can say about Rabiot’s limitations, but when he’s on, he’s “on” for Juve. They are a better team when he is in the lineup, and his ball-winning was an underrated highlight of this derby win. You need players like Rabiot to work like this in a must-win rivalry match, and with a team-high five tackles, per WhoScored.com, the 26-year-old certainly showed the kind of desire that can keep him in good standing with the Juventus brass.