Giorgio Chiellini praised his team-mates for their resilience displayed in grinding out another three important points during this afternoon’s 1-0 win over Genoa.
The defender admitted he knew the game would be anything but plain sailing for the Bianconeri following Wednesday’s energy-sapping heroics in Dortmund, but was full of positives after helping the team earn a third clean sheet in as many Serie A fixtures.
Speaking to the media in Turin, Chiellini said: “It was an important game and the most difficult after an important run of fixtures in these last two to three weeks. We knew we would have to dig deep against a strong side with plenty of energy.
“The Dortmund result gives us conviction for an important final stretch of the season. We weren’t scintillating today but showed ourselves to be tough, solid and capable of seeing out the win.”
Making the difference in the final third once again was Carlos Tevez, whose match-winning strike midway through the first half represented his 24th goal of the season in all competitions.
Paying tribute to his influence, Chiellini concluded: “Carlitos has been a leader from day one with his attitude on the pitch. He inspires the team not just by scoring great goals, but also by the way in which he tackles each game.”