Thiago Motta has insisted that his Juventus side have to be “ready to face every scenario” in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off, which sees them host PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday night.
The Bianconeri finished 20th in the league phase of the revamped tournament and must progress through a new two-legged play-off system as a result, and Motta assured reporters in his pre-match press conference that “our objective now is to get to the round-of-16.”
“For us at Juventus, every game is important. We don’t look beyond that, so our focus is tomorrow. This squad has improved so much but the important things are the facts and our objective now is to get to the round-of-16,” he explained on Monday.
“We all know that it’s a very important game for us. Like our captain has said, there’s always maximum commitment in training to prepare for these challenges. We’re playing at home with a great respect for PSV, but with the awareness that we need to go and play our game. Intensity, rhythm and dynamism; defending and attacking together to achieve our objective, which is qualification.”
Motta, aged 42, feels that his side have demonstrated the togetherness they need to stand a chance against their Dutch opposition on Tuesday, explaining that “I like how the guys work and stay together every day. I live every game intensely. Football is a game of emotions but today I’m calm because I see the team looking good.”
But the former Italian international – who was also capped once for Brazil – admitted that it won’t be an easy clash, highlighting that “PSV have a young squad that play well and press high with loads of courage.”
“We have to be ready to face every scenario. We have a great respect for them and their coach – to compete with them, we’ll have to be at our best.”