06 August 2020
Focus, determination and hunger are the key ingredients that were underlined in today’s press conference when Maurizio Sarri and Leonardo Bonucci took the stage. Both Coach and player spoke about what was needed from the team in order to overturn the 1-0 deficit, all while previewing tomorrow’s fixture set to take place at Allianz Stadium.
Here is what they had to say.
SARRI: “A great performance is needed”
“Tomorrow will be a game that we will need play with a clear head. A great performance is needed, Lyon has grown a lot and become solid defensively. Higuain and Pjanic? They are two players on the rise. Ronaldo is training in the right manner, yesterday he scored an excellent goal in training. He played many games in a short time, he rested a little and now he has trained with intensity and strength.
“We will try to recover Dybala up until tomorrow morning, at the moment he's still training with the medical staff. Cuadrado will most likely start from the first minute, let's see whether it is from the defenisve line or in a more attacking position.
“Playing without fans, even tomorrow, will not be pleasant. The most important competition in the world, the Champions League, would need it even more. Let's hope that the right conditions will soon be in place in order for fans to return.
“Lyon defends with intensity and efficiency and counter-attacks really well. The result of the first-leg allows them to set the game according to their characteristics. It will be a very difficult game, but not an impossible one.
“We are happy to have won possibly the most difficult Serie A in history. Now it would be great to go to Portugal and play the Final 8 as it would mean entering the world's élite.”
BONUCCI: “We must give 100%”
“All of us, with a word, a gesture, an injection of positive energy, can determine how the game unfolds. The focus is on this game, and on the desire to overturn the result; we must only look at ourselves. The Juve seen after the lockdown has shown good things. This week we were fortunate enough to train really well. Tomorrow we must play as a team and give 110%. To play without our fans is not nice, and we will need to be even more focused in order to go to Lisbon.”
GARCIA & MEMPHIS’ WORLDS
Memphis: “Tomorrow will be a very special game."
Garcia: "It's all in our own hands, the qualification to the quarter-finals will depend on us. Juventus won the league beforehand; I don't think they'll be tired. The players will be prepared and have the right game tempo. For us it will be a disadvantage, but the game in the French League Cup showed that our physical form is good. It's a shame that fans won't be present tomorrow: we look forward to having them back soon, as football is made to be played in front of fans. Juve is a great team and it is demonstrated by the fact that even this year they won the Scudetto. But tomorrow we won't only want to defend, we will also want to score a goal. Juve have many great players, many stars. Everyone can move the needle; we are humble, but very ambitious: we want to qualify
