Claudio Marchisio has called on the Bianconeri to consider one game at a time as they prepare to tackle a challenging double header against Fiorentina and Celtic.
Having established a three-point lead over Napoli courtesy of last Sunday’s triumph in Verona, Marchisio insists the team are fully focused on extending their supremacy at the top of the table when the Viola travel to Juventus Stadium on Saturday evening.
The 27-year-old midfielder began: “Our current focus must be on the championship. Napoli have done a great job over the past few years and will push all the way to win the Scudetto. They’ve now got their direct encounter with Lazio, but we’ll just think about playing Fiorentina, who are a great side.
“Buffon was right in what he said. When you know you’ve got teams breathing down your neck, your motivation increases and that was seen in Verona. Napoli had gone level with us at the top, but we managed to win by playing a great game. We’ll then start to consider the Champions League, knowing that Celtic will be able to count on a red-hot atmosphere on home soil.”
Marchisio could be in line for a return to the Bianconeri starting line-up after shaking off a hip injury sustained during last Wednesday’s workout in Vinovo.
“We’ve got a few days before Fiorentina and the Champions League in which to assess the situation. I’m always determined to play, and we’ll see if that will be possible. The players on international duty have now returned and we’re able to work together to prepare for the first game.
“We also had injuries last season, but apart from a few games postponed due to bad weather, we played once every seven days which allowed us to recover easier.”
The midfielder concluded by underlining the team’s burning desire to push for silverware as the crucial encounters begin to come thick and fast.
“The championship and Champions League are two equally important objectives. We missed out on the chance of getting to the Coppa Italia final and we were very upset about that, but there are still two prestigious targets on offer and we’ll tackle them on a game by game basis.
“Motivation will make the difference and we need to maintain ours in every game. We were at risk of going out in the group stages, we had two difficult games against Chelsea and Shakhtar and, at the same time, many important championship fixtures. Yet we were able to win our group and maintain our run in Italy. Now we need to do the same.”
Source: Juventus.com
Buy on AliExpress.com