Pirlo reiterates Juventus motto of ‘fino alla fine’

Juventus got back to winning ways after dismissing bottom-side Crotone 3-0 with a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo and Weston McKennie adding a third to put the game beyond doubt.

It wasn’t a dominating performance right from the outset but coach Andrea Pirlo was satisfied with the result.

“We started a bit nervous, maybe the last defeats had made us nervous. Then the goals helped us and gave us peace of mind.

“The rest we managed well. The start was not the best, the important thing was to bring home the three points.”

Injuries continue to be a stumbling block for the squad and with the Champions League return leg against Porto coming up March 9th, what players was he expecting to get back before then?

“I don’t know [how many]. On Saturday we have Verona and we will also be without Danilo, who is suspended. We must study to field the best players.”

Dejan Kulusevski once again got the start next to Cristiano Ronaldo and the coach acknowledged it was not the ideal spot for him, and that the youngster was still adjusting to play for Juventus.

“We need to try to move better. Alvaro is not at his best, he needs time to get back on his feet.

“If we have Ronaldo, the attack must be developed differently. Kulusevski is not a striker and we ask him for different movements. The game must be wider in order to find Cristiano in the middle of the box. Playing for Juve or Parma are two different things.

“Parma maybe played more on the counterattack, and against Juve the teams close down. He’s adapting to a role that is not his, he is doing it well, he works a lot without possession, and he is giving us a great hand. He can certainly do more.”

Federico Chiesa once again looked different and better on the right half of the pitch.

“He is better on the right because of his way of playing and attacking one-on-one.

“He did well on the left too, he manages to cross well with his left foot, but his position is right winger, and we try to get him to play there.”

Juventus have a game in hand over Inter Milan, but currently sit eight points behind the league leaders with 16 rounds still to play; did Pirlo think the Scudetto race was over?

“All those behind Inter are antagonists, we are one of them and we will fight until the end.”