Dybala in brilliant form and Gasperini will not drop him; now seeking that elusive first goal
Gian Piero Gasperini has confirmed Paulo Dybala will start tomorrow's match in Turin, dismissing any doubt about the forward's availability. Speaking at his press conference, the coach stated simply: "If he is well, he plays." Dybala has been in outstanding form across the opening four Serie A matches, starting all of them and accumulating 343 minutes on the pitch—an average of 85 per game. Those figures demand a return to his time at Palermo (318 minutes in 2014) and Juventus (345 minutes in 2015) to find comparable workload numbers. Gasperini elaborated on his selection philosophy, saying: "One rests when tired. If he is well do you want to put him to sleep? You cannot know when someone will get injured, but if he is well, he plays. If someone needs to rest, it is right that he rests. We will decide match by match. The important thing is to try to make the most of each player's favourable moment." The message is unambiguous: Dybala is the strongest player in the league and Gasperini will not be parted from him lightly. The Juventus academy graduate is chasing his first goal of the season after his last strike came in Turin in January; he has since endured a lengthy injury lay-off but has been prolific in providing assists. Dybala has registered four assists across the opening three league matches. No player has recorded more than four assists in a club's opening four Serie A games since data became available in 2004–05. He joins Antonio Cassano (2009–10), Ignazio Abate (2014–15), Lorenzo Insigne (2017–18) and Lorenzo Pellegrini (2019–20) in that exclusive company.
