Juventus gaffer Thiago Motta was extremely pleased with his side’s show of great spirit in their 3-2 comeback win at RasenBallsport Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Juve battled despite two early injuries and a red card as they came from a goal down to triumph on the night thanks to Francsico Conceicao’s late goal.
“It was a good match, even in the first half where we made some mistakes in the details,” said Juve coach Thiago Motta.
“In the second half, we did better, even playing with 10 men. It was a great performance and a great win.
“Courage from the boys, they were determined to push forward and hurt the opponents. Even with a man down, we had that feeling, so why step back? We kept pushing, and we did it well right until the last minute.”
The Italian giants, who beat PSV Eindhoven in their opening game, suffered a horrendous start with a double injury blow as captain Gleison Bremer was substituted following a challenge with Lois Openda in the sixth minute and Nicolas Gonzalez was also forced off due to injury.
In addition, they were down to 10 men when keeper Di Gregorio was shown a straight red card on the hourmark for a handball outside the box.
“I’m really happy, especially for the team,” Juve forward Dusan Vlahovic, who twice equalised for the Old Lady, said.
“We are becoming a real unit, we fought together, kept pressing even when we were down to 10 men, and in the end, we deserved to win.
“It was a great match, and fortunately, we came out on top.”
