‘We have to get back to feeling like it’s a real game with consequences’: Maurizio Sarri says his Juventus team will benefit ‘from a little fear’ as attention turns to the Champions League after coasting to Serie A glory
- Maurizio Sarri says his side will benefit from a little fear in the Champions League
- The Bianconeri have been criticised for taking their foot off the gas this season
- Sarri says his team will have a ‘completely different attitude’ to the competition
- Juve will play Lyon in the second leg of the competition after losing the first 1-0
Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri believes his side will benefit ‘from a little fear’ as they turn their attention to the Champions League.
The Bianconeri have been criticised for taking their foot off the gas after coasting to Serie A glory this season, picking up their ninth consecutive Scudetto.
Sarri claims that his side will have a ‘completely different attitude’ to the Champions League as they look to overturn their 1-0 loss to Lyon in the first leg.
Maurizio Sarri says his side will benefit ‘from a little fear’ in their Champions League’s clash
Looking ahead to their Champions League clash, Sarri told Sky Sports Italia: ‘A little fear might do us good. We have to get back to feeling like it’s a real game with genuine consequences, but I have no doubts we will have a completely different attitude to the one we’ve seen in the last few games.’
‘We must recharge our mental and physical batteries. We did rather let go in the last few games, as perhaps after beating Lazio we felt as if the job was done, but it’s much harder to get that focus back.’
Juve were criticised for being to lax are the end of the season as they rested several players, including Ronaldo, in the 3-1 home defeat to Roma.
It was Juventus’s second consecutive defeat since sealing a ninth Serie A title in a row.
The result has come just days before their Champions League campaign resumes against Lyon.
Sarri is, however, confident that his team will not come under fire for lack of preparation for their second-leg Champions League clash.
Juventus will take on Lyon in the second leg of the Champions League after losing the first 1-0
Sarri says his team will have a ‘completely different attitude’ to the competition over Serie A
Unlike Lyon, Juve have been back in action playing in both Serie A and the Coppa Italia since the football hiatus. Whereas the French side have only played one competitive match since March and that was last night’s Coupe de la Ligue against Paris Saint-Germain.
Sarri says he watched the 0-0 game that ended in a sudden death penalty shoot-out. He said: ‘I watched Lyon for much of their game with PSG and was surprised at how good their fitness levels were.
‘The problem with these entirely anomalous situations is that we don’t know how they will affect teams. I don’t know if we’ll be in better shape or they will.
‘The important thing is to judge our own season and not what those on the outside might think.
‘I don’t believe that those who preceded me had bad seasons because they didn’t win the Champions League. Considering all the problems we had this term, we could very easily have lost the Scudetto, so we can be pretty happy to have won.’
When asked what he had personally improved on this season after winning his first Serie A title, the manager said: ‘I discovered patience. I was entirely lacking in it before, but now I seem to have found a little bit.’