A tactical look at Matthijs De Ligt’s Juventus debut against Napoli

Matthijs De Ligt made his highly-anticipated debut for Juventus against Napoli, and it did not go as planned for the Dutch international.

When Serie A schedule-makers slotted in the Juventus and Napoli showdown for matchday two, they evidently hoped for fireworks and an exciting contest between the two top teams in the league. In the end, fans watching from Juventus Stadium and around the world were treated to just that as both teams combined for an unprecedented seven goals.

The thriller had just about everything from counterattack goals, a mesmerizing comeback and a late game-winner no one saw coming. The battle between the two Italian teams was arguably one of the most entertaining fixtures in recent Serie A history, but it was not one to remember for Juventus’ €75-million-dollar man Matthijs de Ligt.

In his debut for Juventus, De Ligt did not have the dream showing he would have liked to have had. Defensive errors and miscues highlighted his performance in a game that is far from what is expected for a defender at a club like Juventus. He just did not look like the player that took Europe by storm while with Ajax last season. Now while his performance was far from a catastrophic disaster on all counts, there are a couple of instances that need to be addressed and other positive aspects which need more work.

So, against Napoli, De Ligt lined up alongside Leonardo Bonucci as the left centre-back in Juventus’ 4-3-3 setup. De Ligt had direct passing options to his left with fullback Alex Sandro and midfielders Blaise Matuidi and Miralem Pjanic when building out from the back. Alongside Bonucci, De Light had an array of tasks that included orchestrating with a high line, containing target man Dries Mertens and combatting Napoli when they triggered a press in Juventus’ own half or the middle third.

First, from a passing perspective, it became abundantly clear throughout the game how well De Ligt was going to be able to adapt to playing with Juventus.

Thanks to his success with Ajax, passing from the backline became an effortless transition in his first game with the reigning Serie A champions. He completed 44 passes at a 95.7% completion percentage against Napoli, which is strikingly high considering the team maintained possession at a low 44% rate. The Dutch defender was able to effectively push the ball upfield from the defensive third or distribute play in Napoli’s own half when operating from the middle third. When faced with a press from Napoli, De Ligt was able to maintain possession time after time while preserving the team’s structure of play

Now what may differ in De Ligt’s role as a centre-back with Juventus than with Ajax will very likely be the responsibility of being more direct with passes upfield — a key component of Sarriball. This comes in the form of delivering defensive splitting long balls into the final third or carrying the ball into the opposition’s own half to attract defenders off of their lines. Forward and direct passes are of the essence in Sarriball; it is a key component for defenders in this system. He showed a couple of signs against Napoli in being assertive with his involvement in the attack but not to the extent to where his presence was felt to a large degree.

One instance of a simple but yet effective forward pass came in the 31st minute where five players contributed to a 10 second passing sequence that lead to a Sami Khedira shot that hit the woodwork. The sequence all began with De Ligt in possession of the ball in the middle third. As mentioned before, Napoli seeked to press when Juventus had the ball in the defensive or middle third of the pitch.

Patient on the ball, De Ligt passed the ball off to a supporting Matuidi just as Fabian Ruiz was beginning to press. Ruiz’s movement freed up space for Pjanic to subsequently receive the ball and send it out upfield.

For the most part, De Ligt focused on the basics with his passing repertoire; he seeked to distribute and maintain possession while building through phases on the pitch. The 20-year-old did not offer much in the attack with a multitude of passes in between the lines. He did complete six long balls — double from his 3.1 per game average in Eredivisie last season — but none were targeted to the final third. As a result, play was mainly built up from the fullbacks and midfielders in transitions that included quick passes and runs into the final third.

Overall, De Light’s performance against Napoli turned out to be a game of two halves.

Alongside Bonucci, the duo held their ground in Juve’s defensive line throughout the first half. They were able to halt and shy away many threatening attacks, which is why Napoli finished without a shot in the box over the opening 45 minutes of the game. There was one minor sequence of miscommunication in the 42nd minute where both players ran into each other after vying to get the ball in the final third but fortunately for them, it did not result in a goal-scoring opportunity for Napoli.

Thanks to the positioning and pressing from the midfield, Juventus were able to alleviate the pressure onto both De Ligt and Bonucci due to the quick transitions in the final third that generated two early goals.

The second half is where it all began to snowball downhill for De Ligt.

Throughout the early portions of the second half, Napoli began to be more aggressive in their pressing triggers. They looked to send multiple players to the ball carrier to force a long ball from deep in Juve’s own defensive third in order to help win back possession immediately. Thus, De Ligt and Bonucci were faced with much more pressure in the box. Both players were also tasked with moving off of their lines to mark a ball carrier approaching the box.

Early on, De Ligt responded well to Napoli’s bombardment of attacks into the box. For example, watch here how Mario Rui is progressing with the ball up the flanks and sees Lozano approach the box. De Ligt reads the play from the start and ends up clearing an incoming ball into the box in what may have resulted in an effortless tap-in goal for Lozano.

After Ronaldo’s goal that put Juve up 3-0, Napoli began to go all-in with a high press to claw their way back into the game. This tactic meant pressing Juventus in their own half with multiple players at a time and sending more attackers into the final third for potential numerical advantages against De Ligt and Bonucci. Napoli’s plan centered on creating goal-scoring of any kind in the box, whether it was in the open play or a set piece.

The tactical switch from Napoli manager Carlo Ancelotti came at the expense of De Ligt. Napoli wound up with five shots in the box over the second half with three of them ending up in the back of the net.

The first goal allowed by Juventus came on a set piece where Mertens scored on a header. De Ligt was supposed to closely man-mark Mertens, but the 31-year-old forward swiftly moved into the penalty box past the Dutch defender without much of a physical challenge.

Napoli’s second goal was more noteworthy not only because Juventus allowed an open play goal but also because of the lackadaisical defensive play from De Ligt.

See here the positioning of both De Ligt and Lozano. The 20-year-old is closely watching the ball carrier while at a close distance to Lozano.

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But within seconds, Lozano was able to run into open space in the box for a tap-in goal. Since De Ligt paused while tracking back, Piotr Zielinski was given enough of a clear passing lane to send in a pass to Lozano with De Ligt far out of reach. In quick transitions when the opponent is in the attacking third, defenders must always have an eye for any players approaching the box and have the instinct to quickly react on the fly.

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Napoli’s third goal also came on a set piece thanks to back-to-back defensive mishaps from De Ligt.

He committed too early on a challenge and wound up completely missing Lozano, who progressed his dribble until he was fouled by Sandro.

Following the foul, Napoli answered with another set piece goal by Giovanni Di Lorenzo with De Ligt right alongside him. De Ligt was unable to mitigate through the traffic of players and clear away the ball from the box.

While it is unfair to pinpoint the entirety of fault to De Ligt for all three goals, he does to an extent deserve his fair share of blame for them.

It was a horrid second half performance after such a promising opening 45 minutes to his career in Turin. But fortunately for De Ligt, Napoli’s late own goal blunder secured the win for Juventus and deflected what may have been ensued of an onslaught of criticism for the Dutch international.

At the end of the day, it is just one game for De Ligt, but there is certainly much to learn. He was efficient in distributing possession although he could have been more aggressive in finding teammates further up the pitch in open space. It will be of high importance that De Ligt begins to implement more of a relentless approach to pushing up play further up the pitch in order to combat low block tactical systems, which he will be sure to see in Serie A. And, of course, communication with the backline will be critical to his success.

The talent is there for him to succeed. With continued improvements on all aspects of his play, his potential would be endless as an unheralded top defender in Europe.