06 May 2015
Fresh from performing admirably in a tight midfield battle, both Arturo Vidal and Stefano Sturaro were on hand to provide their reaction to last night’s 2-1 Champions League semi-final first leg win over Real Madrid in Turin.
First up to speak to reporters in the mixed zone was Vidal, who called on the Bianconeri to refrain from letting up in next week’s return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
He said: “We’ve got this idea in our head to go on and win the Champions League. After tonight’s result, we’re one step closer to the final.
“We’ll go to Madrid to try and control the game. There are always two matches to every semi-final, and we’ve only won the first.”
After finding out he’d be making his full Champions League debut just prior to kick-off, Sturaro was notably nervous when he received the call but revealed that the feeling soon vanished once the first whistle sounded.
“I was told that I’d be playing earlier today. There was a bit of tension in the beginning and it felt strange, but that soon disappears by the time you set foot on the field and I got used to my surroundings very quickly.”
Casting his mind back to a pulsating 90 minutes of football, the former Genoa man concluded proceedings by praising Juventus’ perseverance, as they all rallied together to defeat Real Madrid for the first time since 2008.
“We contained Real Madrid well and were attentive throughout. Given that we all had similar roles, Arturo dropped back to help both myself and Marchisio out.
“We struggled a bit out on the wings, they’ve got some fantastic players but in the end we dug deep and saw it out.”
