19 October 2016
A clean sheet, an important European victory, a committed and determined defensive performance. Sound familiar?
Juventus’ 1-0 away success at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Tuesday night not only represented their third consecutive clean sheet in the competition, but also a performance that for Andrea Barzagli, was “typical” Juve.
Speaking to the Sky and Mediaset cameras this afternoon, the Wall commented that while a more expansive and attacking style of play remains a work in progress for the Italian champions, peerless rearguard action and a now famous winning mentality will always “be part of Juve’s DNA.”
Adding the final word on Lyon before looking ahead to Saturday’s trip to the San Siro to face Milan, Barzagli had this to say after the Bianconeri’s immediate return to training today:
A final word on Lyon
“We’re pleased with last night’s win even though perhaps we could have done more on the ball in the final third. The three sides we’ve faced in our group so far have defended deep and generally very well, so creating chances has naturally been difficult. Luckily Juan (Cuadrado) pulled out a moment of brilliance for us to score the winner in Lyon; we had to dig deep and to win late on was terrific.”
Build from the back
“Our run of European clean sheets is fruit of our concentration in defence and that applies not only to us guys at the back but also the team as a whole.
“Churning out big results in difficult games is part of Juventus’ DNA; if you don’t concede goals, you always have a chance to win football matches even if we are trying to adopt a more expansive style and improve our attacking play. It can take a week or so to get back into the groove after an international break but now that we have two wins on the spin, we can look forward to kicking on in the next few weeks.”
“Milan? A battle”
“Facing Milan at the San Siro is never straightforward, now more so than ever given their good start to the season. It looks as though the team is fighting for the jersey and we know they will be very keen to put on a show for their home fans. It will be a battle on Saturday.
“It’s a must-win fixture for us and we want to do so by delivering a top-class performance; every game is important but when you face a direct title competitor, you always find that little bit of extra motivation.”
“Buffon? A leader”
“The whole team embracing Buffon after his penalty save was just instinctive and it certainly won’t be the last time we do it. Gigi is a leader on the pitch, always has been and always will be.”
