Matthijs De Ligt felt that Juventus’ 1-1 draw with Torino ‘was a strange game’ and highlighted his tranquillity ahead of next week’s Champions League clash.
The 22-year-old Dutch defender scored the opening goal in the Derby della Mole this evening, heading home a Juan Cuadrado corner after only 13 minutes to make it 1-0. Unfortunately for the former Ajax man, his goal wasn’t enough to secure the three points for the Bianconeri, as Andrea Belotti netted an equaliser during the second half.
Speaking to DAZN after the 1-1 draw with Torino, De Ligt first reacted to the result.
“The derby is a very important game for the city and the fans. Alex Sandro did very well, now we have three central players who are injured and Danilo was disqualified.
“It was an emergency moment but he did very well. We had a lot of desire to score goals, Danilo scored a goal like that against Atalanta too.”
He touched on Belotti’s equaliser and what mistakes were made.
“With crosses it’s very important that the two centre-backs are inside, this was a strange game because Torino, especially on the left, attacked with four men and we were three and sometimes you have to go out. When he went out, I had to go in and help my teammates.”
The Dutch defender commented on the spirit that Juventus will have facing Villarreal.
“There is no worry, we have played many games with many players out. We have a lot of quality, I’m not worried but we’ll look at who will be ready to play.”
Finally, De Ligt touched on if he’ll be captain during the various absences.
“No no, here at Juventus there is a rule that the person who has played the most games becomes captain.”
The 22-year-old De Ligt has made 27 appearances across all competitions so far this season, for a total of 2360 minutes. In that time, he’s scored two goals and helped the side keep 12 clean sheets.
Juve, De Ligt capitano col Villarreal? "No, prima devo fare ancora qualche anno qui" https://t.co/roePuF5V5z
— TUTTOmercatoWEB (@TuttoMercatoWeb) February 18, 2022