Matthijs de Ligt went down painfully with Juventus in the Champions League against Villarreal (0-3) on Wednesday evening. The 22-year-old defender gets in the studio from RTL 7 strong criticism for his bad role in the last two goals. Ron Vlaar even notices a negative pattern at De Ligt, who, in his eyes, fails at crucial moments. “It happens to him again and again,” said the former defender.
Juventus fell 0-1 behind in the final phase and was in full pursuit of at least an equalizer, which could have resulted in extra time. Instead, Villarreal defender Pau Torres decided the game with a punch in the 85th minute after a corner was headed through the near post. What is striking about the goal is how easily Torres runs away from De Ligt. “He lets his man leave the back,” analyzes Hedwiges Maduro. “He expects the ball to be headed away, but you have to walk with your man.”
VILLARREAL ON 0-2 ?? Pau Torres heads the yellow sub to the quarterfinals ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #JUVVIL pic.twitter.com/HIhANpBJTz
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) March 16, 2022
Vlaar is deadly at the moment. “He just gets out…”, said the 32-time international. “And now he points to others again, but this still sticks to him a bit… We’ve talked about that before, but those are those moments… If you go back to that previous game, there he out and that 1-1 came into being… here today at the corner and also at the penalty. That will add up again.”
It’s collapsing at Juventus! † After a handball from De Ligt, Villarreal again gets a penalty and it is that other Dutchman on the field who makes it all even more painful?? The Spaniards make mincemeat of the Italians, 3-0! †#ZiggoSport #UCL #JUVVIL pic.twitter.com/loVs1BQqsE
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) March 16, 2022
With the penalty moment, Vlaar is referring to De Ligt’s remarkable attempt to block a shot by compatriot Arnaut Danjuma. De Ligt slipped and tried to jump with his back to the ball, but made hands and conceded a penalty. “At an important moment he slips, just like with the Dutch national team”, Vlaar evokes a national trauma: the slipping and the handball of De Ligt at the European Championship against the Czech Republic, after which a red card followed and the the Dutch squad went down dramatically. .
“Well, it is very unfortunate, but it happens to him time and again,” says Vlaar about the penalty moment against Villarreal. “If he is just good on his feet, but for whatever reason he can’t get it done. You can say it’s unfortunate, but it happens to him too often. These are of course very expensive moments. Juventus, you will be judged on that.
The reaction of Matthijs de Ligt
De Ligt himself puts his hand in his bosom. “I thought at 0-2 that Álvaro Morata headed him away, but you don’t have to think, you have to do it,” he admits. RTL 7† “An expensive lesson, but very annoying.” De Ligt also discusses the penalty moment. “I’m trying to do everything I can to block that ball, and then it’ll come right up to me, shit.”
“Very sour”, concludes the mandekker about the whole evening. “Until the 75th minute it didn’t go great, because you don’t score, but fine in itself. But then the last 20 minutes were dramatic, of course. Juventus is no longer part of it, you can say that. Three years in a row in the You can say that in the eighth finals, then you can say that. We have to try to find the way up. We are doing well in the competition…” De Ligt speaks beautiful words about Danjuma. “I spoke to him, I think he played a very good game with a lot of threat.”