MOTTA AND LOCATELLI: WE KNOW WE HAVE TO WIN AT HOME | OneFootball

On the eve of the Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven, Thiago Motta and Manuel Locatelli spoke at a press conference, analysing the upcoming match and the team's current form.

MANUEL LOCATELLI

“Tomorrow, we'll play in front of our fans against a great opponent who plays good football. They're a young team that we've already faced, but it will definitely be a different kind of game. It's a two-legged tie but it will be essential to start with the right approach and get a good result. Winning always helps, it could give us a boost and we have to be aware of our qualities. We've grown a lot as a team, we are a great squad now. We always train to the max but we know there is still a lot of room for improvement. For me, playing here is a dream come true and being captain is a responsibility I feel every day: on the pitch we're brothers, we fight together and we want to give our all for this jersey, and being at Juve is a responsibility because here you have to win straight away, but working with guys like this makes everything easier.

"Tomorrow will be one of the most wonderful matches to play in, because there will be an incredible atmosphere: we have prepared for the match very carefully because we know we have to win at home. It will be an intense match, we want to start strongly and secure an important result.”

THIAGO MOTTA

“We all know that this is a very important game for us. As our captain said, we always give our all in training to be ready for these challenges. We're playing at home with the utmost respect for PSV, but we know we have to play our own game. Intensity, pace, dynamism: defending and attacking together to achieve our goal, which is to qualify.

"PSV are a young team that play good football and press high with great courage. In September, we suffered from their possession of the ball, so we'll have to be ready to face any situation. We have profound respect for them and their coach. To compete with them we'll have to be in top form.

"At Juventus all matches are important, we don't look further ahead, our focus is only on tomorrow's game. This team has improved a lot. The important thing is the facts and our goal is to make it to the last 16. A lot has changed, especially in terms of the squad’s resilience. I like it that the guys work and spend time together every day. Every game is very intense for me, football is a very emotional sport, but I am very calm today because I can see that the team is doing well. Tomorrow we will have to compete at the highest level.”