Matthijs de Ligt has praised Juventus’ mentality as the Bianconeri registered a precious 2-0 victory over Bologna at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara. Given Juve’s disappointing start to the season, capturing a comfortable win over a well-disciplined opposition could be a morale boost moving forward.
Goals from Alvaro Morata and Juan Cuadrado were enough to defeat Bologna, who failed to create many scoring opportunities of their own. It’s been the perfect way to respond to an underwhelming 1-1 draw at newly-promoted Venezia last time out as Juventus racked up their 12th competitive triumph over the Rossoblu on the trot.
Massimiliano Allegri’s men have gone unbeaten in four consecutive Serie A matches since a 1-0 home loss to Atalanta in late November (W3, D1). A noticeable upturn in form, inspired by Juventus’ rock-solid defense, has seen the record-time Serie A champions whittle down the gap on fourth-placed Napoli to five points.
Luciano Spalletti’s side will have a chance to restore an eight-point cushion on Sunday, but it would require an away victory over second-placed Milan. Regardless of the outcome at San Siro, Juventus seem to have found the upwards trajectory as de Ligt underlines his side’s psychological improvement in the recent period.
“We played with a lot of maturity, although we can improve a great deal in the way we build out from the back,” he told DAZN, as quoted by TUTTOmercatoWEB. “We played well, Bologna didn’t have many clear-cut chances, but we must improve our attacking approach.
“I always want to win and do everything possible to win. Sometimes I get angry because I don’t get it when I see players with the wrong mentality. That makes me angry. An error can happen, but the mentality must never waver.”
De Ligt has been central to Juventus’ recent defensive renaissance. Allegri’s men have now kept three clean sheets in their last four Serie A outings, recovering much of their well-documented defensive prowess in the process.