Barzagli lauds Juve defensive strength
Juventus centre-back Andrea Barzagli expressed his joy at having managed to lead his side to keeping a clean sheet in their 2-0 win over Fiorentina.
By FOX SPORTS Staff
The Bianconeri had recently showed a weakness at the back, only managing to keep two clean sheets in their last 10 games, but Antonio Conte's men did extremely well on Saturday to prevent a Fiorentina side containing the likes of Luca Toni and Stevan Jovetic from scoring.
Strikers Mirko Vucinic and Alessandro Matri both found the net for Juventus, but it was Barzagli, a rock at the heart of the Bianconeri's defence, who deserved the most credit for the win.
And the 31-year-old declared himself pleased that his side managed to hold on for the win without conceding.
"It was important to keep a clean sheet, because we've been punished several times in the last few games," Barzagli was quoted as saying by the official Juventus website.
"We don't usually concede many and today [Saturday] we were defensively solid, even when pitted against a strong team like Fiorentina.
"Overall we played a great game."
Federico Peluso, who joined Juventus on loan from Atalanta in January, echoed Barzagli's sentiments and added that he was finding it easy to settle into the team.
"We tackled the game with the right spirit," Peluso declared.
"I'm happy on a personal level, but I must thank all my team-mates who have enabled me to settle in quickly.
"It's not simple for a player joining Juventus from a provincial side."
And Peluso urged his team-mates to show the same kind of attitude when they take on Celtic in the last-16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.
"We must face Celtic with the same mentality," Peluso added.
"We're aware of our strength; after all, if we're in the last 16 of the Champions League, it's not down to chance."
With the win, Juventus managed to extend their lead at the top of the Serie A table to five points after nearest challengers Napoli were held to a 1-1 draw by third placed Lazio.