Juventus 2-1 win against Napoli has relieved the under-pressure Andrea Pirlo as he attributes it to his team’s hard work.
Despite Napoli’s win, the Bacconieri are just contending for the top four after slipping off the Scudetto. Their 10th consecutive Serie A dominance seems to have been ended by Inter Milan.
Speaking after the game, the coach credited his boy’s work rate, saying the win is a reward of hard work.
“When you have this spirit, when you sacrifice yourself to cover for your teammate who is out of position, this is the result and it’s perhaps what we were missing in other games,” Pirlo said
Reports had claimed that Napoli’s game was an ultimatum, should he had lost he would have been sacked.
“I knew this was the job of a coach before I took over, so I was not unprepared. Having positive COVID cases just before the game and doubts right to the end wasn’t helpful, but we’ve been in this situation all season.”
Pirlo also talks about Paulo Dybala who showed what he still has in the tank. Dybala has only one year left in his contract, but will he be offered a new deal?
“Missing a player like Dybala for such a long period of time is obviously going to be a problem for any team. The others did well, but the more options to call upon, the better.
“He has a year left on his contract, we’ll see.”
Meanwhile, Pirlo made a last-minute turnaround to start Gigi Buffon despite his earlier comment that Wojciech Szczesny would start.
He explained, “It was something I had already prepared. There has been criticism towards Szczesny after the last game and I told you he would play anyway.”
“However, I had already talked to him, he was tired after having played many games, with his national team too. He needed a break to start again. He remains the Juventus starter,” he added.