Juve boss admits 35-year-old dissatisfied with being knocked out of Coppa Italia victory
Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo has defended his decision to replace Cristiano Ronaldo following Tuesday’s victory over Inter, although the Portuguese star is unhappy that she was taken off the field.
Ronaldo scored twice in the first half of the Coppa Italia semi-final in the second round, hitting back after Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring for Inter in the ninth minute.
Juve would win the match 2-1 at the San Siro, gaining a vital advantage in the second stage of Torino next week.
After the match, Pirlo was questioned about his decision to take Ronaldo down in the 77th minute and said he felt the need to rest his team’s star, who turns 36 on Friday.
“It’s normal when you go out in a game like this to want to play to help the team,” Pirlo said. Rai Sport.
“There is no contractual clause that says it cannot be removed. He knows that he is a fundamental player for us, but in order to catch his breath, he must always be on top.
“He proved it with his performances after some criticism. He couldn’t have done better than that.
“I said [to him] that he had to rest, we have an important match on Saturday. He played many consecutive games, from time to time, a little rest is good for him. ”
After Inter beat Juve 2-0 in Serie A just two weeks ago, Pirlo was happy to see his team come back against a tough opponent.
“We weren’t ourselves against Inter in the league, that was a slip, but it was also a valuable lesson and we worked on the mistakes that were made in that game,” Pirlo added.
“This is only the first round, we have not achieved anything yet. What this proves is that if we are fully focused, it becomes difficult for someone against us. We know our strength.
“It’s not easy to maintain that intensity when you play practically every day. I saw a great reaction after I went back. “
Before Juventus take on Inter in the second leg, they will face Roma in the Serie A match on Saturday.