Wojciech Szczesny explains his penalty save against Spezia and warns Juventus ‘certainly need to improve so that we can play well for 90 minutes.’
The Bianconeri eventually won 3-0 with Alvaro Morata, Federico Chiesa and Cristiano Ronaldo goals, although Szczesny saved a stoppage-time Andrij Galabinov spot-kick.
“I expected him to take a fairly central penalty, so it was I guess quite an easy save,” the goalkeeper told Sky Sport Italia.
Wojciech Szczesny explains his penalty save against Spezia and warns Juventus ‘certainly need to improve so that we can play well for 90 minutes.’
The Bianconeri eventually won 3-0 with Alvaro Morata, Federico Chiesa and Cristiano Ronaldo goals, although Szczesny saved a stoppage-time Andrij Galabinov spot-kick.
“I expected him to take a fairly central penalty, so it was I guess quite an easy save,” the goalkeeper told Sky Sport Italia.
The goalkeeper was seen shouting at his teammates even when 2-0 up, as Spezia had a period of pressure.
“It was crucial we understood the importance of the moment. Even 1-0 or 2-0 is not a guarantee, so we had to keep on our toes and avoid conceding a goal that could’ve changed the game. I wanted to keep my teammates alert.
“Our second half was good, the first had a really slow tempo. It was also credit to Spezia for playing well, but we certainly need to improve so that we can play well for 90 minutes and not just 30.
“We definitely need to improve. We’re aware that we went through a rough period, but we play every three days and we need to understand the importance of this moment.”
Szczesny was asked whether he ranks himself in the top five or even top three of world goalkeepers right now.
“Thank you very much, but I wouldn’t dare make such an evaluation. I just do my work for Juventus and try to help the team win games. I leave the ranking to others.”
The former Roma and Arsenal goalkeeper is now a veteran at Juve and has seen several iterations of the Old Lady take form.
“This is a fantastic group of players. With the arrival of the coach, we also have clear ideas. We might get them wrong sometimes, but the ideas are clear and there is this feeling of growth, although of course we need to do much better if we are to be competitive in Europe.”