Andrea Pirlo congratulates Paulo Dybala on breaking his duck ‘both psychologically and physically,’ but the high press was behind the Juventus win over Genoa.
The Bianconeri had to rely on two late Cristiano Ronaldo penalties to finally get the better of Genoa after Stefano Sturaro had cancelled out the Dybala opener.
“The attitude was the most important thing and we had to cancel the Barcelona game from our minds,” the coach told Sky Sport Italia.
Andrea Pirlo congratulates Paulo Dybala on breaking his duck ‘both psychologically and physically,’ but the high press was behind the Juventus win over Genoa.
The Bianconeri had to rely on two late Cristiano Ronaldo penalties to finally get the better of Genoa after Stefano Sturaro had cancelled out the Dybala opener.
“The attitude was the most important thing and we had to cancel the Barcelona game from our minds,” the coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“We were against a team that wanted to close up and defend, so we needed patience to get the breakthrough, but also the right attitude to attack them and press them into making errors.
“It was annoying to concede a goal at literally the first shot on target, especially a few minutes after we broke the deadlock, but we recovered from it.”
Many had expected Alvaro Morata to start today after his two-match ban was halved on appeal, but Pirlo kept the faith with La Joya, who got his first Serie A goal of the season.
“Paulo needed this goal to break through both psychologically and physically. He did well in the two phases today and we are happy for him.
“His performances have been improving recently and he deserved this goal, we’re very pleased for him.”
Juventus are still stuttering somewhat in midfield and not being particularly creative from those areas.
“We have been working on this since the start of the season, being aggressive, press the opponents in their own half, because it also helps you to keep the ball and not run as much if you get it back quickly.
“We don’t have a classic midfield playmaker, but we do have midfielders who can take on a few different roles. It depends on the games and the characteristics of the opponents we are playing.
“We’re trying to make the most of Weston McKennie’s characteristics, as he can ‘invade’ the penalty area very well in central areas, especially when we have Dybala who tends to drift a little wider, and we need someone to attack the space.”