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#2 The Cristiano Ronaldo factor
Following a slow start to his debut season by his staggering standards, Cristiano Ronaldo opened his Serie A goal tally for Juventus in his fourth game for his new club and hasn't looked back since.
The Portuguese marksman scored 21 times in 31 appearances in his debut Serie A season, which marked the first time since John Charles (1958 also for Juventus) when a non-Italian player scored 20 goals in his first Serie A season.
It was the tenth consecutive top flight season where Ronaldo scored at least 20 league goals, and the eleventh time he did so in his last 12 seasons.
In a 3-0 win at Empoli, Ronaldo scored in a record ninth consecutive Serie A away game (also Giuseppe Signori for Lazio in 1992-93).
Ronaldo scored Juventus' 5000th Serie A goal in a 1-0 away win at Torino, and his second leg hattrick against Atletico Madrid helped Juve overhaul a first leg deficit to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.
Ronaldo is a big game player and has shown the penchant to shoot into prominence in the biggest games.
The crown jewel of Juventus' attacking trident, Ronaldo is expected to hit the ground running in his second Serie A season and lead Juventus' goal charge.
#3 Arrival of Matthijs de Ligt
The youngest captain in a Champions League game (19 years) scored the goal for Ajax which knocked out Juventus in the quarterfinals.
While Ajax's attacking play attracted a lot of attention, it was the defensive solidity provided by De Ligt which contributed to their win over Juventus. The defender exhibited a maturity far beyond his teenage years as he adroitly marshaled the Ajax backline with his clean tackling, positional sense, aerial prowess and astute reading of the game.
That impressed Juventus enough to swoop up De Ligt's services in a Serie A record deal of 85 million euros.
Touted as one of the best young defenders in Europe, De Ligt is expected to lead the Juventus defence in the years to come as ageing defensive stalwarts like Bonucci, Barzagli and Chiellini recede into the background.
