Andrea Pirlo has admitted that he set his team up to defend deep and counter-attack AS Roma in their 2-0 win yesterday.
The Bianconeri faced a very good Roma side in a game that they needed to win to enter 3rd place on the league table.
AS Roma is one of the best teams in Italy this season as Paulo Fonseca has managed to pass his ideas across to his players.
They are very good at ball retention and patiently look for openings to kill off their opponents.
Being the bigger team, Juve would have maintained their normal style, which is similar to that of the Giallorossi, but Pirlo changed the plan and it worked.
After the game, he revealed that they knew Roma was a good team with the ball, so they had to work a way around that which was allowing them to have the ball while counter-attacking.
“We had prepared this type of match. We knew Roma play very good football, so we were prepared to sit back, defend and then go on the counter,” Pirlo told Sky Sport Italia as quoted by Football Italia.
“Our preventative marking was good, this was the approach we wanted, because it wasn’t easy to go forward and be aggressive with Roma.
“Instead, we waited for them at times and attacked them at others. We basically did a reverse of the way Roma played against us earlier this season, because you need that in your locker and can’t always be aggressive with a high press.
“We have found the enthusiasm, are more solid and our defensive approach is more determined now, because we learned from mistakes made in the past.
“Giorgio Chiellini is in good shape and we hope he can continue like this. The group has always been humble, known when it’s the time to run without the ball and when everyone needs to help out. Even the biggest champions do that and it’s a crucial element.”
