Douglas Luiz finally opens his Juventus account as Spalletti hails display at Lecce
Douglas Luiz has finally scored for Juventus. The Brazilian midfielder found the net in Sunday’s 2-0 win at Lecce, more than two years after his €50m move from Aston Villa, and he also set up the opening goal for Weston McKennie.
It was a night that changed the conversation around a player who has spent much of his time in Turin under scrutiny. Luciano Spalletti was quick to single him out afterwards, and the club’s own numbers show just how rare an evening like this has been for him.
A first in more than 260 top-flight games
According to the standout stats published by Juventus on Monday, this was the first time Douglas Luiz had both scored and assisted in the same match in Europe’s top five leagues. Before Sunday he had made 261 appearances in those competitions without managing it.
The club also points out that he now has two goal involvements from eight Serie A appearances this season, one goal and one assist. In the 2024/25 campaign he played 19 league games for Juventus and failed to register either.
Both contributions came before the break. His free kick was dinked over the Lecce defence for McKennie to break the offside line and slide in on 29 minutes. Twelve minutes later, Federico Gatti laid the ball off and Douglas Luiz hit it first time from outside the box into the far corner.
What Douglas Luiz said
The midfielder did not dwell on the personal milestone. In comments shared by the club’s press room after the game, he put the result first.
“The most important thing today was to win. I’m really happy with the result because we’ve worked so hard, and I’m delighted for the team. This victory also gives us the confidence we need,” he said.
He was also honest about the second half, when Lecce pushed Juventus back. “We played well in the first half, but I think we could definitely have done better in the second. We need to improve and perform well for the full 90 minutes.”
Speaking to DAZN, he added that the set piece routine involving Teun Koopmeiners is something the squad practises a lot, and that the players were pleased for their coach after a difficult week, as Tuttosport reported.
Spalletti’s verdict
Spalletti had already explained after the 3-0 defeat by Lazio that he wanted changes, as covered in our piece on the changes Spalletti identified. Since then Juventus have moved to a three-man midfield, and Douglas Luiz has been one of the beneficiaries.
Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, the coach was full of praise for the Brazilian. “He had a great game today, he fought and ran, he battled on all sides and he helped clean up certain situations when we needed him to,” Spalletti said, in quotes reported by Football Italia.
He came off after 82 minutes, replaced by Sarr, having done the bulk of the work in a side that had only 17 outfield players available. With Manuel Locatelli and Khéphren Thuram among the absentees listed in our latest injury update, Spalletti needs exactly this kind of reliability from his remaining midfielders.
A chance to build
One good night does not settle a debate that has followed Douglas Luiz since his arrival. What it does give him is a platform. If he can keep producing this level of energy and quality in a system that suits him, the midfielder who struggled to make an impact in his first season may yet become an important figure for Spalletti this term.
Sources: Juventus FC, Football Italia, Tuttosport
