No league titles are gained without the utmost endeavour and this season’s Scudetto race is certainly no different, as Andrea Barzagli was keen to emphasise after Juventus’ hard-fought 2-0 victory away to Atalanta on Sunday afternoon.
Speaking straight after the final whistle, the defender and Juve’s opening goalscorer in Bergamo, began: “We need to stay on our toes and continue to give 100 per cent in every match we play. Until now we’ve done very well, but won’t have achieved anything unless we’re sitting at the top of tree come the end of the season.
“From now on in, all the fixtures are very difficult, so we need to have the correct approach throughout, which is something I’m confident we’ll do.”
Turning his attentions to the flow of today’s triumph over the Nerazzurri, incidentally the team he last scored against back in May 2012, Barzagli admitted that the visitors might not have maintained the same level of intensity in their play during the second half, but that the overall display was a cause for comfort on the back of a heavy fixture list over the past month.
“It was crucial to win today. We played well in the first half, then we lost our way a little after the break. That could almost be expected, given the huge amount of games we’ve had to play lately. All in all, however, we have to be satisfied with the victory.”