Conte warns rivals Juventus 'hungry' for UCL

By FOX SPORTS Staff

The Bianconeri progressed into the quarter-finals of the Champions League after navigating past a tricky Celtic side 5-0 on aggregate in the last-16 of the competition.

Having taken a commanding 3-0 lead over Celtic in the first leg of their last-16 tie, Juventus emphatically ended the Scottish champions' European dream in the second leg as a 24th minute goal from Alessandro Matri and a Fabio Quagliarella strike in the 65th minute helped the Italian giants along to an easy 2-0 win in Turin.

And Conte believes the Bianconeri are determined to go all the way to win the Champions League after seeing how dominant they were in securing their spot in the quarter-finals of the most prestigious competition in European football.

"We did well tonight [Wednesday]," Conte was quoted as saying by the official Champions League website.

"This team is hungry, and we always have to be hungry because we've just started eating.

"We sat at the table last year with the Scudetto, but we've just started eating. 

"Now we will wait for the draw to see who we will face in the next round. We'll see, now we have to focus on the league because we are still fighting in Serie A and it is not easy to win in Italy." 

The 43-year-old Italian tactician also expressed his satisfaction at his side's performance against Celtic on Wednesday.

"These kind of games are what everybody wishes for, because we were leading 3-0 after the first leg, but most of us are are inexperienced at this level so it was not easy to understand how to apporach to the match appropriately," Conte added.

"In the first half we had some problems but before the break we became more solid. 

"We are playing well; there are many positive things."

With Juventus still embroiled in a fight for the Serie A title, Conte surprised many by selecting a strong line-up against Celtic in the second leg despite having already established a 3 goal lead from the first leg.

However, Conte justified his team selection by claiming he had to set a good example to his players about respecting one's opponents.

"My players always fight till the end of the games," Conte declared. 

"That's what I want from them.

"We must never forget that the Champions League is a tough competition.

"A coach has to give respect if he wants to be respected and that's what I think I am doing with Juventus' players. 

"If you want somebody to walk down a road you must be the first one to walk that way."

Juventus can now focus on their bid to retain the Serie A title and will face Catania in their next league fixture.