Following his splendid display against England last Friday, Leonardo Bonucci delivered the goods once again for Italy, leading his national team towards the Semi Finals of the UEFA Nations League.
The Azzurri needed a victory in Hungary who proved to be the dark horse of the group. While Giacomo Raspadori and Federico Dimarco delivered the goals, the captain helped the Italians in securing a clean sheet, with Gianluigi Donnarumma’s stunning saves also playing a large part in the victory.
Thus, the defender received praise from the major Italian news outlets, who also offered some advices for his Juventus manager.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (via ilBianconero) gave him a decent 6.5 grade for his efforts.
“Juve receives a confident and regenerated leader from Italy, one who leads the defense and sets up as he’s been doing at Juventus for a long time. 118 caps and he hasn’t slowed down. Now the ball is in Allegri’s court,” wrote the pink newspaper.
On the other hand, Il Corriere dello Sport (via JuventusNews24) described his performance as resolute, while handing him a rating of 7.
The source also points out to the fact that Bonucci always plays better in a three-man backline.
Juve FC say
It’s hard to argue against the last statement. After all, Bonucci’s best career displays occurred at a time when he had Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli lining up beside him.
Recreating a defense trio reminiscent to the famous BBC remains nothing more than wishful thinking at the moment, but perhaps a defense which includes the likes of Bremer and Danilo can still help Bonucci restoring order at the back.
