Aston Villa-Juve, Motta: "Good match. We're aiming for qualification"

Birmingham (UK), 27 November 2024 – A Juventus bandaged throws the heart beyond the obstacle and snatches a precious draw at Aston VillaStill struggling with the injury emergency, the Bianconeri showed off a game of grit and personality, responding blow for blow to an Aston Villa team that in the first half pressed and tried to control the game, coming within a whisker of taking the lead right at the 45th minute with the Crossbar hit by Digne from a free kickIn the second half, despite also being without Savona – stopped by a muscular problem – the Bianconeri raised their heads, coming close to scoring in the 65th minute with Conceicao's header, stopped by a providential intervention on the goal line by “Dibu” Martinez, and resisting the final assault by Aston Villa, who found a goal with Rogers in injury time that was later disallowed for a clear foul on Di Gregorio.

This point is held tight Juventus coach Thiago Motta, interviewed at the end of the match by Amazon Prime Video: “The team continues to play compact and with balance. Aston Villa have different players but they are a team similar to Milan, with the same idea of ​​football, which in recovery, when we were open, started quickly on the counterattack. They look for Watkins a lot and he is difficult to counter in his positions. Bailey was looking for pace but we conceded little and at the same time created little because we played with balance so as not to give Aston Villa what they were looking for. We had that very clear opportunity with Conceicao, which however did not turn into a goal. All in all we played another good match, bringing home a point. We will continue to fight for qualification”. On the Koopmeiners moment: “They managed to impose their game and we suffered a lot. Koopmeiners is playing in a difficult position. Playing between the lines and finding space, especially in matches against teams like Aston Villa who regroup, is not easy. It was also difficult with Andrea and Kephren. You could see the difference at the end when he dropped back to a more comfortable position, where he could see the game more. He plays like this in the national team too. At the moment, with the players we have, he has to give his contribution in the more offensive phase. He can do it perfectly because he has already done it and has the qualities to do it. In many matches he has also come close to scoring. He is a special player, different. He can cover many roles and he transmits a lot to the team, explaining what needs to be done. I am very happy to have him and he gives me peace of mind on the pitch. Sometimes I would like to change him, but it is difficult because he helps the team so much”. The goal remains to get as high up in the rankings as possible: “With our idea of ​​football and our identity we aim to win every game. We have three games against City at home, Bruges away and against Benfica, who also won today, to qualify. It is an important moment, in which we must play every game at our best as we have done up to now to try to win. We will do the math at the end if we need to. There are many games and we will play every game at our best”.