The fact that Medhi Benatia was making just his 10^th league appearance of the season last night is perhaps one of the largest indicators of Juventus’ strength in defence.

With injury keeping Giorgio Chiellini on the sidelines, Benatia stepped up to the mark against Milan on Friday evening to deliver an all-round performance of the highest quality.

Paired alongside Leonardo Bonucci, the Moroccan, together with his Italian ball-playing partner was free to dictate the game from the back and the pair’s influence on their team in possession was clear to see.

Benatia’s 65 forward passes made him the second most prolific passer of the ball – behind Bonucci (70) – and with three interceptions and two tackles, the game’s top-ranking defender, but it was his intervention at the other end of the field that will stand out in the memory.

Picking off a stray pass in midfield, Medhi strode into the Milan half with the confidence of a centre-midfielder before galloping into the box and finishing Dani Alves’ cross with the ruthlessness and composure of a striker to net his first goal for the club.

A stray back pass threatened to undo his excellent work overall late on but should take little away from what was a very promising comeback showing from Juventus’ number 4.