On the heels of a disappointing defeat at the hands of Atalanta last weekend, Juventus bounced back with a 3-1 win against the hopeless Parma.
The visitors took a shocking lead when Brugman’s freekick went over the wall (or perhaps through it) and left no chance for the stranded Gianluigi Buffon.
Luckily for the Old Lady, Alex Sandro came to the rescue with a surprising brace, and Matthijs de Ligt sealed the victory with a third goal from the corner kick.
Coach Andrea Pirlo spoke the press after the match, and admitted his side’s struggles early on, whilst addressing Cristiano Ronaldo’s replicated howler, as the latter failed to jump when standing as a part of the wall prior to Parma’s opener.
“We made life difficult for ourselves with the opening goal, then ran a few other risks on set plays, and it’s a pity because we’d done well defending from dead ball situations this season,” Pirlo told Sky Sport Italia as translated by Football Italia.
“We did well to turn it around and the win was important for our confidence, as we played well and needed to take home the three points.
“We have instinctive players, but must also give them directions on the positions to hold. They did it better in the second half than the first, especially with the body positioning to receive the ball. We were too distant in the first half and that slowed down the passing movement.
“Maybe we don’t maintain the same concentration and pace from match to match. Sometimes we are a little slow, we hold onto the ball, allow the opposition to occupy the space and it all grinds to a halt.
Here’s what the former Milan player had to say about Ronaldo’s costly mistake.
“Unfortunately, these things happen, but we’ll evaluate it over the next few days.”
The coach then responded to questions regarding the European Super League which was partially architected by Juventus president Andrea Agnelli.
“Agnelli explained what was happening, but that the most important thing was to secure a place in the top four to qualify for the Champions League. He reassured and encouraged us ahead of this game.”
“I already spoke about it yesterday, so did the President and the director. We all know the same things. Something has to be changed on the European level, because the ideas that were proposed were good ones, but we are also open to other suggestions and will respect the rules,” Concluded Pirlo.
