Juventus News: Matthijs de Ligt admits he was surprised at being benched for season opener
Matthijs de Ligt admits that he was surprised by the coach's decision to leave him out of the starting XI in Juventus' season opener.
The defending champions took on newly-promoted Parma to kick-off their Serie A campaign and de Ligt was benched in favour of the seasoned pair of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini.
The Old Lady got their season underway on a winning note as Chiellini's first-half header earned them a hard-fought 1-0 victory but de Ligt was made to wait for his league debut for his new club.
Speaking to Dutch outlet AD, de Ligt expressed that he was surprised after being benched but went on to declare that he'd fight for his place in the team.
"As you can imagine, obviously I would have preferred to play today. I didn't have the chance to understand anything during training regarding my position or not, it was unexpected, but obviously, I respected the decision of the coach."
The former Ajax captain admitted that although he'd have loved to play, he's happy with the manager's decision to ease him into the starting XI.
"I must also be realistic. I am still in the process of being assimilated, here in Italy. And the couple that played today, Bonucci and Chiellini, has long been considered the strongest central defense pair in the world. It is not at all obvious then playing debut, I will have to conquer my place by myself this season."
The 20-year-old was one of the most sought after players this summer and reportedly rejected advances from the likes of Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain to sign for the Italian giants.
De Ligt insisted that he's still in the process of adapting to a new league and went on to reveal that expectations are different at Juventus when compared to Ajax.
"Physically it is very hard (in Italy), but I notice that I am getting stronger. Defensively, things are not expected of me that are so different from those I was used to in Ajax. I want to improve my Italian considerably. I have a course for five days a week, so I would say that things are going well."
The Dutch wonder-kid signed for the Bianconeri for a fee believed to be in the region of €75 million and is expected to make his debut in the coming weeks, as Juventus look to defend their domestic crown.