23 October 2014
Gianluigi Buffon expects his Juventus side to regain their pre-international break form when Palermo visit Turin on Sunday.
The Bianconeri go into the game following yesterday evening’s 1-0 defeat away at Olympiacos, their second successive Champions League reverse of the season.
Wednesday’s result did not tell the whole story, however, with opposite number Roberto having to pull off some stellar saves to keep the visitors at bay.
Buffon, who recently received his 145th cap for the Italian national side, spoke to Sky earlier today and began the interview by giving his reaction to a disappointing night in Greece: “The bitter taste we have in our mouths today is one of regret. A positive result was in our reach and we deserved to get it.
“Putting everything else to one side, we created a host of goalscoring chances, especially in the final half hour. We regret not being able to break down our opponents from the get-go.”
Yet Buffon did credit his side for their response to falling a goal behind: “Olympiacos looked spent in the final half hour after giving it their all for the most part. But regardless of the talk on opposing goalkeepers, you need a reaction from your side and to see them ask questions of the opposition, and Juve showed just that last night.
“The overall assessment of our performance should be made after taking all the factors into account and not just be borne out of discontent following the final whistle of a defeat.”
On the Bianconeri's Champions League journey so far, he commented: “Even if we should be angry at only taking three points from three games, I feel we’ve been somewhat unlucky too: we should be on five after last night’s match and those contested against Malmo and Atletico.”
Birthday boy Alvaro Morata made his first start as a Juventus player in Piraeus and Buffon praised the 22-year-old for the impressive way he led the line.
“He was one of the highlights of the evening. In a matter of four or five moves, he showed us that he’s the type of player who can decide the game in any given second. He’s exactly what we need: an individual blessed with the talent of unpredictability who can put the cat amongst the pigeons.”
Turning his attentions to league matters, the 36-year-old is confident the Bianconeri can regain their stride when they entertain Palermo this weekend.
He concluded: “We’re hungry to return to our pre-international break form. It was an important period in which we grew as a team, and I count the defeat against Atletico as part of that.
"We acquired something extra in terms of character. Getting back on track requires everyone to be on board and the desire to keep surprising.”
