Some Bianconeri linchpins spoke to the press yesterday in preparation for today’s Derby della Mole. Leonardo Bonucci gave an interview to La Stampa: “It will be a very difficult and balanced game. After a strong start, the Granata are going through a critical moment and the loss with Lazio was tough, but the Derby is always a match of his own: they will throw everything at use, but we must spring towards Scudetto.”
On Maurizio Sarri: “I could not believe he was coming here until I saw him sign. Everything is still in front of us, we want this year to be historic. We have a different awareness compared to the past: we want take control of the game. We struggled to impose ourselves in Champions League in the past, now we are more confident. We feel strong, but we must avoid being presumptuous.”
On the defence: “We need some time after this many changes, we conceded very avoidable goals. Matthijs De Ligt needs to stay serene, we have all gone through this type of moments.”
He gave a tidbit about the year when Antonio Conte became the Juventus coach: “Initially, I was the fifth centre-back in the pecking order. A Russian team made an offer and I was about to accept it, but I felt insidethat something was wrong. It would have been a defeat to leave like that. I won him over through hard work and, when we switched to a three-man defence, I became a starter.”
Miralem Pjanic instead talked to Tuttosport: “Our new style enhances my skillset and entertains us. We can win Champions League if we make it to March without injuries. Being at Juventus means always being focused on the next win.”
On Inter: “It is a nice duel, it makes you focus more. But we do not care much about them, we have to forge ahead and the season has just started. We respect them but we proved that we have been built to win.”
On the referees: “When you get off the pitch after a loss, you are angry and can say whatever you want, but blaming them is the cheapest way. They make mistakes like we do, VAR helps a lot. I no longer listen to the debates. You never lose because of the referee, it is alibi.”
Wojciech Szczesny instead spoke to DAZN: “We have to become more diligent in the back, we are not very solid yet, we are allowing two or three chances per game and that is not okay if you are Juventus. We are not struggling defensively, we are in control of the matches, but there are always one or two episodes that can make the difference. We have to eliminate those as well.”
On the finishing woes: “I am sure that, considering the quality of our forwards, there will be contests where we will score four or five goals. We are settling for two now, one more than the opponent. I am confident we will be able to improve. They have a bit of troubles in practice against me and Gianluigi Buffon, but they are top-end players.”
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