De Ligt surprise as £67.5m defender dropped to the bench in Juventus’ win against Parma
MATTHIJS DE LIGT was stunned after he was benched for Juventus’ first win of the season.
The Serie A champions beat Parma 1-0 on the opening day of the season with 19-year-old De Ligt benched.
Maurizio Sarri opted to start with the centre-back pairing of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.
The new Juve boss was repaid as Chiellini scored the only goal of the game.
But De Ligt – who cost the Italian champions £67.5million from Ajax – was an unused sub.
After the win the Dutchman admitted he was frustrated not to play – and felt he did enough on the training ground to earn a start.
He said: “Of course, I would have preferred to play.
“I couldn’t read this based on the training sessions, in that sense I didn’t see this coming, but obviously I respect the decision of the coach.
“I’m also realistic, I’m still getting used to being here in Italy.
“The duo that played today, Chiellini and Bonucci, were seen as the best defensive pairing in the world.
“It’s not like you’re just going to play instead of them in the opening match.
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“I’ll have to conquer them to earn my place in the team this season.”
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey is still recovering from injury and did not make the squad.
But Adrian Rabiot, who like Ramsey arrived in Turin on a free transfer, made his debut after replacing Sami Khedira on the hour mark.