Claudio Marchisio says the Bianconeri ground out a “crucial” win tonight that could prove decisive come the end of this season’s Serie A campaign.
The 1-0 victory over Sassuolo, secured via Paul Pogba’s stunning finish with eight minutes remaining, lifts the reigning champions 11 points clear of Roma with 12 games to play.
And Marchisio claims that despite the hard-fought nature of the triumph, there was evidence of a positive response to the errors committed in Thursday’s Coppa Italia defeat against Fiorentina.
Speaking to the media after the game, the 29-year-old said: “Tonight’s win was crucial for our league campaign. We have a healthy advantage that we’ll look to maintain. The team’s in good nick, we put in the hard yards tonight and showed better levels of concentration than we did on Thursday.
“There are no easy games, and when they line up with five at the back it becomes a lot harder to find space. These three points take us 11 clear at the top after games in which we weren’t able to take advantage.”