24 January 2019
PREPARING FOR LAZIO
"I've matured, I'm much more rational and less instinctive. Experiences help you grow and I've had a lot of them both on and off the pitch. Today, I think that I am a better man, certainly different from how I was in the past - said Leonardo Bonucci to the Sky Sport microphones, looking ahead to Lazio the defender added, "Ciro [Immobile] is a great striker, he has scored a lot of goals. He is lethal on the second balls, so we have to mark him tight to prevent him from getting the ball and we must pay attention not to allow him spaces. Let's go to Rome with the desire to continue winning! The Serie A championship still has a long way to go, and we have to prepare ourselves for the Champions League and the matches to come."
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE UCL
"It will be a balanced Last 16 tie. Atletico is a great team, they have international experience and every year they play every year to get to the latter stages. They have a great coach and many champions, so it will need a great Juventus display to get through. We have the potential to get to win all the competitions and that is a goal that we have set ourselves - the defender continues - "We will also need a bit of luck, but we are a great group and we have a duty to fight for every ball. The favourites for the Champions League are Barcelona, Man City, Juventus and Liverpool, because they are teams that can play and have an identity. But in Europe there are always surprises, so we have to stay focused and do our best."
CR7 AS A TEAMMATE
Bonucci and Juventus are not hiding their ambitions, which is supported by the fact that they can count on a Champions specialist like Cristiano Ronaldo: "I was surprised by his consistency - concludes Leonardo - "he doesn't give up a centimetre. We have a good relationship and we like to joke with each other through challenges of shots on goal or who runs more. Cristiano pushes us all to give our best both on and off the pitch."
