Five things learned by Juventus on Inter at Derby of Italia despite De Ligt's goal

Juventus won its first pre-season victory with a shoot-out victory over Inter Milan, its rival in Serie A on Wednesday.

Matthijs de Ligt's first goal was canceled by a Cristiano Ronaldo deflected free kick in the second half, while former Chelsea boss, Maurizio Sarri and Antonio Conte, clashed in Nanjing.

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was the hero of Juventus on penalties, as the Italian champions recovered from their 3-2 defeat at Tottenham this weekend.

Here are five things we learned at an unfriendly Italia derby in the International Champion's Cup.

1. Ligt may need time to settle in Turin

The remarkable rise of De Ligt continued this summer, when he replaced Ajax by Juventus by a big blow. At 19 years old – remember how young he is – he is expected to become one of the best central defenders in the world, but it may take time for him to play at a constant level for his new club.

One could argue that De Ligt is already one of the best defenders in Europe, hence the huge package paid by Juventus to acquire it. But in reality, there are still gaps in his game that need to be corrected, as evidenced by his own goal here.

Matthijs de Ligt scores after 10 minutes of play for his first start for Juventus …

In his own net! ?

An OG for the Dutch center back!# ICC2019 pic.twitter.com/al8T65SDbU

– Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) July 24, 2019

The teenager was deceived by a shot at the far post from a corner and lazily lazy to finish putting the ball in his own net. The pressure of his first start for Juventus may have played a role, but the club does not have to worry; playing alongside Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini – and Virgil van Dijk internationally – will help De Ligt reduce the number of mistakes he makes.

Last season, De Ligt fought against the mighty presence of Fernando Llorente when Ajax lost to Tottenham in the Champions League semi-finals. On a positive note, he seemed more badured in the air during his 45 minutes against Inter and hoped that it would continue all season.

2. Friendly or not, the Derby d'Italia has an advantage

The name of this tournament – International Champions Cup – is an effort to make the matches more competitive, thus adding intensity to the games and making the event more marketable. In truth, they are still only friends – but no one has said anything to Juventus and Inter.

The match was played at a relatively slow pace due to lack of physical fitness and the large number of substitutions, but players on both sides were desperate to win. Ronaldo looked exhausted whenever he missed an opportunity, Bonucci blamed several arbitration decisions and Inter made his own share of the complaints to the officials.

The Derby d'Italia lived up to its reputation. Whether friendly or not, it seems impossible that these two parties are complacent face to face.

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3. Ronaldo lives up to the star

All was not successful for Ronaldo in Nanjing. Most of the time, he took a touch of too much in dribbling or making a bad decision in the last third, especially when he took the ball around Daniele Padelli only to be attacked by the keeper. Inter before he can score.

But even when Ronaldo has some free time, he usually produces memorable moments. The Portuguese international scored a deflected free kick midway through the second half, thus reserving for Chinese fans who were anticipating a goal when he intended to go back after placing the ball in the wheels.

Games 2 games in the #ICC
2 goals for Ronaldo

Juventus at the Inter Milan level!# ICC2019 pic.twitter.com/ZJtejEgIRh

– Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) July 24, 2019

On top of that, Ronaldo was all about fantasies. The pbades, the blind pbades and the heels were all greeted by the shouts of the fans. Ronaldo has more than deserved his star, and his celebrity status seems to be even more intense in Asia, where fans have only one chance a year to see him in real life. His powerful shot in the shootout was the icing on the cake.

4. Sarri and Conte have not yet instilled philosophies

Sarri and Conte are very young, at Juventus and Inter. It is therefore understandable that the Italian giants do not yet look like Sarri and Conte. The fans of Serie A and Premier League will know the respective approaches of the two Italian coaches.

These approaches were not really exposed in China. Juventus failed to retain the ball in the way that Sarri likes his teams and Inter did not fully show the aggression of a group of Conté players. Both clubs have yet to complete their transfer activity for the summer – the hour will tell how many players we have seen in this match will play regularly in 2019/20.

According to information suggesting that Juventus is still in pursuit of Paul Pogba and that Inter did not abandon Romelu Lukaku, the core of the teams could be very different by the end of the transfer period. The judgment on the impact of Sarri and Conte should be reserved at that time.

5. Buffon always has

The legend of Juventus, Gianluigi Buffon, who returned to the club this summer after the expiry of his contract with PSG, already reminds supporters of his status icon.

The 41-year-old recorded three shootout penalties to secure victory for his team. He guessed right in terms of direction for every free-kick and was unlucky not to save another, but that mattered little; his three brilliant stops were enough for Sarri's men to leave Inter.

Gigi Buffon

41 years

3 penalty saves

Like a good wine! ?

⚫⚪ Juve wins the shootout 4-3# ICC2019 pic.twitter.com/ckymdvkOXa

– Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) July 24, 2019

It will be interesting to see how many times Buffon plays this season while he rivals the former Arsenal goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny, for a place between the sticks.