Federico Chiesa admits 2022 was ‘a horrible year’ for him, but scoring the first goal to send Juventus into the Coppa Italia quarter-finals feels like a new beginning. ‘I was unable to help my teammates for a year.’
It was a trickier situation than expected for the Bianconeri, who saw the Moise Kean opener cancelled out by a Mattia Valoti header on a Monza corner.
They were heading towards extra time until Chiesa came off the bench and got the winner, cutting inside from the left for a right-foot curler in off the inside of the far post.
It was the Italy international’s first goal since January 2022, when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, ending a drought lasting 378 days.
“It has been a horrible year for me. I am now focusing on training and getting back into shape,” Chiesa told Sport Mediaset.
“Let’s say I need to get really into shape, getting used to playing every three days. I was not used to it, but I am trying to give my all to help my teammates, seeing as I was unable to help them for a year.”
This was also the first match Juventus had played since the humiliating 5-1 Serie A defeat to Napoli last Friday, which saw Chiesa somewhat stranded in the starting XI.
“I think against Napoli we played very badly, we weren’t aggressive enough, and I have to congratulate Monza as well for their performance tonight. However, we defended well, were aggressive when they reached the edge of the area and know we can always score goals at the other end, but we definitely need to play better.
“As I said, we need to raise the bar. Atalanta will be a fundamental game for us to get back to the track we were on before Napoli.”
There have been more changes too, as yesterday President Andrea Agnelli, Vice-President Pavel Nedved and other directors all stepped down for a new era in the club’s history.
“Along with the new owners we will try to take Juve back to where the club deserves to be. We do our job on the field, the club does its off it.”
its okay, you get paid