The night belonged to Matthijs de Ligt as he grabbed his first goal for Juventus to secure a 1-0 win over Torino in the Derby della Mole.
Recent weeks have seen the Dutch youngster come under increased criticism as mistakes have become almost inherent in every match for Juventus this season, in particular handballs.
It is now expected that there will be an incident involving De Ligt and a handball, and Saturday night was no exception.
In just the 13th minute of the game at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, De Ligt’s heart would have been in his mouth as the Torino players furiously protested.
Granata captain Andrea Belotti said he thought the referee had whistled for the penalty, and when Daniele Doveri consulted with VAR, the Dutch youngster must have thought the inevitable was to come, the third penalty given away this season.
It wasn’t, and instead, De Ligt almost scored at the other end and with 20 minutes left in a tight match, he popped up at the other end to fire home Juventus’s winner.
Even at the back – excluding the handball incident – it was his most polished performance for Juventus. Single moments can change the course of history and this may well be the Dutchman’s.
Winning dirty
A late win over Napoli, a late win over Inter, a late win over Lokomotiv Moscow, a late win over Genoa and a late win over Torino.
While this Juventus side is mostly comprised of the same players that Massimiliano Allegri had, there is something different.
No longer do we see the ’60 minutes, 2-0 up, bring on Barzagli’ mentality from the Bianconeri. We have a team that want to attack, want to go forward and never give up.
In all the aforementioned matches, Juventus have had plenty of opportunities, but in each, they have failed to take them. The football is easier on the eye, and there seems to be a lackadaisical element to their game at times.
It happened on Saturday in the first half, when Torino were well on top of their city rivals. Rodrigo Bentancur called it a ‘dirty game’ from Juventus point of view. But nevertheless, Juventus are winning, as dirty as it may be.
No Bullseye
For all their effort, particularly in the first 45 minutes against Juventus, Torino never tested Wojciech Szczesny. Shots went flying wide, over the bar, or were blocked.
Only once was the Pole called into action and that was just after Juventus had scored when Cristian Ansaldi tried his luck. But that was it, resulting in another derby defeat.
Torino have only scored 11 times this season, and four of them were in the first two games, and they have hit the back of the net just once in the last five.
Back in 2008/09, Torino lost seven of their first 11 Serie A games and were promptly relegated. This season it is six losses from 11, and Walter Mazzarri needs to get things in order, otherwise the shadow of Serie B could loom large.
