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

Matthijs de Ligt is a true leader

Giorgio Chiellini had a very good game for Juventus, all told, as he recorded five interceptions and cleaned up well for his team defensively. However, his younger center back partner, Matthijs de Ligt, was the one to truly stand out as a Man of the Match candidate basically on par with goal-scoring hero Juan Cuadrado.

De Ligt made multiple goal-saving stops. And you could always see him pointing out the best passing options, barking orders to the players in front of him, and putting his body on the line for Juve. Basically, it was a vintage De Ligt performance, and the fact that a 21-year-old center back can have something described as a “vintage” performance is a testament to his quality and advanced development.

Juventus have a number of important players, but there’s nobody who means more to the club long term than De Ligt. The Dutch central defender isn’t the only leader on this team, as Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini, Juan Cuadrado, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alex Sandro, Danilo, Paulo Dybala, and Leonardo Bonucci all provide some sort of leadership and stabilization in their own styles.

But De Ligt is always the most vocal and the one who gives the most consistently over the course of 90 minutes and a full season. Derby matches at the end of the season are a perfect opportunity to see who truly stands out, and the likes of Cuadrado and De Ligt certainly showed Juventini what they are all about.