Wojciech Szczesny was in high spirits after his decisive penalty save in Juventus’ 4-3 win over Roma this evening.
The 31-year-old Polish goalkeeper saved Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini’s penalty in the 81st minute of the match, securing all three points for the Bianconeri as they held onto a 4-3 comeback win.
Speaking in an interview with DAZN after the win over the Giallorossi, Szczesny first discussed his emotions following the full time whistle.
“It’s a great feeling to save a penalty at such an important moment in the game. I did everything I could not to save it though, because when I did the fake I did it too early, but I was lucky because Pellegrini shot it at me. But it was a good feeling.”
He felt that his save was more luck than skill considering the timing of his jump.
“Yes, I was lucky rather than good. Pellegrini shoots two kinds of penalties, I did the feint on the run-up and I was out of time, I was a bit off balance.”
The Polish goalkeeper spoke about the Bianconeri’s journey this season under coach Massimiliano Allegri.
“We’re getting there but we still lack a bit of personality, the Juve DNA. We have players who have important qualities, but we need to give them time to get used to playing under pressure.”
Szczesny explained what he meant by the Juventus DNA.
“To be more consistent. This year we’ve played some good games, then others we’ve played badly. It’s not like Juventus, we must try to be the best team in Italy but today we are not. But our ambitions are there, we’ll get there little by little.”
He touched on the performance of the Bianconeri defence in the win.
“It was more complicated today, but also because of Roma’s merits. They’re very good on set-pieces, in the first half they made it difficult for us on corners, they created important chances and they scored. You have to give Roma credit as well.”
Finally, Szczesny revealed his belief in Juventus’ chances of finishing in the top four this campaign.
“If one of us doesn’t believe in it, the can stay at home and not play matches. You can’t accept not going to the Champions League, even in this difficult year. We are Juventus. But first we have to improve, but we have the ambition to reach the top of Italy.”
Juventus’ win means that they remain 5th in the Serie A table, three points behind 4th place Atalanta, who have a game in hand. The two teams will meet in Bergamo on February 13.
#Szczesny: "Bella sensazione parare un rigore in un momento così importante. #Pellegrini me l'ha tirata addosso" #ASRoma #RomaJuventus https://t.co/9J1TLsmEax
— Pagineromaniste.com (@PagineRomaniste) January 9, 2022
Szczesny’s recovered atfter a bad first 3 matches.
But he’s correct. That was more a bad PK by Pellegrini. If he takes them for Italy, Pellegrini has to do better.