22 January 2020
Juve reached the semi-finals of the Italian Cup with an authoritative performance and a convincing result against Roma last night. After the game, Maurizio Sarri, Leonardo Bonucci and Rodrigo Bentancur spoke about the 3-1 result. Here are their comments:
MAURIZIO SARRI
“We played a good game against a strong team that dribbles well and who can put you in difficulty. Age does not count for Buffon; he is a goalkeeper at a high-level. Douglas Costa is not yet 100% but compared to the previous game he improved, and regards to, Higuain I'm sorry he didn't score, he would have deserved it.
“Ronaldo is in extraordinary shape right now and is scoring with impressive pace; he is a champion, one of the strongest of all time and it would be important for us to help him conquer the sixth Ballon d’Or: it is something that would make us happy.
“Regarding the full backs, at the moment we are left with Cuadrado, who has recovered from flu, and with Alex Sandro who had a problem on the transverse muscle, but during the season we played a game with Matuidi full back, in case of need we also have him.”
LEONARDO BONUCCI
“We must never give up because, as we have seen tonight, as soon as we drop our levels, we find ourselves in difficulty. Roma play proactive football, so as soon as we stopped running and attacking on the second balls, they led us to defend in our area. But the first half was good, we played the game well.
“Why didn’t Dybala play? Paulo has played a lot this year, he is an added value for us, but Juve is fortunate to have 25 players of the highest level, there are three goals to be achieved and you have to be ready and accept the manager's decisions.
“The points advantage in the league? It is nothing, four points are nothing. There are still a lot of games missing, it would be crazy if four points are enough to go all the way. We have to work, improve and sacrifice ourselves. We have three objectives and the duty to go all the way.”
RODRIGO BENTANCUR
"We played a great game. We started very well and after the goal, we immediately played a good second half. I am also very happy with my first goal at home, with the stadium full, it was very nice. I feel better game after game, and everyone has great faith in me, even the fans, and they show it me every day. Now we must continue on this path."
