Juventus defender Daniele Rugani got his first ever start against Torino in the Coppa Italia. This is how he fared in the Derby della Mole.
After breaking onto the scene with Empoli and starting in all 38 games for the club last season, Daniele Rugani joined Juventus. The 21-year-old is among the most highly rated young defenders in the world but struggled early on to get game time as the bianconeri started the season on the wrong foot. Today Massimiliano Allegri gave him his first ever start in the Coppa Italia against Torino. Despite only playing two minutes prior to tonight’s game the defender started the game in impressive fashion.
Rugani – First half performance:
The former Empoli man deputized for Andrea Barzagli on the right hand side of defence and did not look out of place one bit. The biggest praise that can be showered upon the young defender is that Juventus’ defence did not lose an ounce of solidity with him in it instead of the otherwise rock-solid Barzagli. While, at times, he was hesitant to get forward and support Stephan Lichtsteiner down the right, his confidence grew as the first half went on. One thing that was striking was his awareness in the defensive phase and his understanding of the Italian champions’ system. The 21-year-old was not shy to order his more experienced teammates around and consistently got his positioning spot-on. After receiving a lot of stick for his use of Rugani, Allegri will be more than pleased with his first half performance and overall interpretation of the 3-5-2.
Rugani has waved his arms and barked instructions at Bonucci more than once
— Juvefc.com (@juvefcdotcom) December 16, 2015
Rugani – Second half performance:
In the second half, the defender didn’t really have much to do quite frankly. Following Cristian Molinaro’s sending off and Simone Zaza’s second goal five minutes into the half, Juventus were utterly dominant. In the sixtieth minute, however, Rugani did show a flash of his immense potential when Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini were caught out of position. The former Empoli man shifted over from the right hand side of defence and chased Andrea Belotti all the way into the Juventus box. The Torino forward would eventually flash his shot wide of the goal as Rugani applied pressure and put him off with a well-timed slide tackle. Outside of that, the defender looked assured in possession and was positionally sound throughout the second forty-five.
Overall thoughts on his performance:
All in all, this was as good a game as any for Rugani to get his first ever start in. For one, it wasn’t a meaningless game as it was a knockout clash against a fierce rival. In addition, Juventus dominated the proceedings throughout, especially after the red card, giving their defence a cushion to work with. When looking at Rugani’s individual performance, you couldn’t really notice him on the field. And that’s not a bad thing. When Angelo Ogbonna would come into the defence in the past, the former Torino man looked clumsy and stuck out for all the wrong reasons. Against Torino, Rugani defended well, moved the ball around nicely and more importantly, communicated with his teammates so that he’d never had to stick out. Overall, it was a highly encouraging performance from the defender who will be hoping to get more minutes in the new year.
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