Maurizio Sarri was full of praise for his Juventus team following their 2-0 victory over Inter, saying “this was far more what I wanted to see.”
The Bianconeri turned in arguably their best performance of the season, dominating the game with goals from Aaron Ramsey and Paulo Dybala.
There was a distinct change in formation compared to recent games with La Joya left on the bench and Juan Cuadrado moved into right-back once again.
“We talked it over with the team yesterday, because playing Cuadrado in the trident meant leaving Dybala and Douglas Costa out. Starting with Douglas allowed us to have both options and Dybala proved a very important card we could play at the right moment,” Sarri Sky Sport Italia.
“Its an important victory, but there are still 12 games to go, so it’s a long road ahead. This was far more what I wanted to see from my Juventus.
“We were a little flat in recent weeks, so we had to choose players who could guarantee more energy, both physical and psychological. That’s the feeling we got in training from these particular players, but that can change.
“Ramsey? He maintains that he needs to see the pitch in front of him, or he can get a little lost. I think he’s doing well in this role, but to be fair, he’s also in much better physical condition now than he was when playing behind the strikers.
“Gonzalo Higuain played with sacrifice, he tried to help out defending by tying to stop the ball getting to Marcelo Brozovic and naturally that was tiring for him. When Paulo comes on at those moments of a match, he can be devastating.
“My plan was to introduce Dybala a minute before we scored with Ramsey, but I decided to put him on anyway, as I felt that was the moment he could finish the game.
“Inter tried to press us high up the pitch in the opening half and probably used up a lot of energy doing that. The inertia of the game changed after our goal, we had a very strong 20 minutes after that and gained confidence, whereas Inter lost it at the same moment.
“It’s a big positive that we barely allowed Inter a single shot on goal.
“The Coronavirus? I am a coach and I can talk about football, but I am always wary of those who believe they know everything. I don’t know what the right thing is to do.
“What I have to ask is whether it’s right to take two hours of enjoyment away from those who are stuck indoors or if there really is a serious risk for the players and staff, I just don’t know the answer to those questions.”