I don't mean to rag on Cheilini, but after his teammates defensive display today, I feel an important point must be made about him for this season.
Individually, he is without a shadow of a doubt our best defender. In 1 v 1 situations he will win the tackle and out-muscle you 9 times out of 10. However, his individual brilliance rarely spreads to the teammates around him, and that is where I expect him to make a massive improvement this season.
Given the age of our current back 4, Chiellini is the most experienced. With this comes added responsibility, and it is time he turns into a leader at the back, something he alluded to the other week.
Part of being a leader involves disciplined displays. This means Chiellini cannot go on parading runs through the middle anymore, be dragged out of position by attackers (especially when his teammates are better situated to deal with them), or blindly hoof the ball up the field anymore.
Along with Marchisio, I expect big things from him. They both experienced a record breaking Juventus last season, and with veterans leaving this summer and others in the last stages of their career, their role within the club/dressing room has evolved from last season.
We need both of them to step up and set an example for all the new players. I realize this is unfair as individually they are the least of our concerns, but this is Juventus and we have always had a handful of players to drag the team along, and considering their mental attributes, I see them as the best candidates to fill this role for Juventus.
So far they have shown themselves to be good players, but now they must adapt and show themselves to be worthy leaders and adjust their performances on the field accordingly.