On the eve of the Champions League clash, Juventus coach Thiago Motta discussed the encounter against Lille while shedding some light on his philosophy.
The Bianconeri will be looking to collect their third victory in four group-stage outings. After beating PSV Eindhoven and RB Leipzig, the club’s perfect record was ruined by a defeat at the hands of Stuttgart a couple of weeks ago.
But while the Old Lady will be determined to rebound at Lille’s expense, Motta knows this won’t be an easy mission given that the Ligue 1 side has been proving its worth in the tournament, but has faith in Dusan Vlahovic and company.
“We have great respect for Lille, their coach and the players,” said the 42-year-old in his pre-match press conference via IlBianconero.
“Dusan [Vlahovic] is doing well, he’s been working hard since the start of the season. Now he has to continue to give something more for the team. We have a lot of faith in Dusan and the others. We want a strong performance tomorrow.”
Douglas Luiz has received a call-up after overcoming a recent injury, and Motta insists the midfielder could have an important role to play from the start of coming off the bench.
“With Douglas back, we have one more player who can help us. Either from the start or coming off the bench, I’m happy to have him.
“We won’t have Milik, Bremer and Nico Gonzalez who are still missing. The others are fine.”
The former Bologna coach also defended his team-selection policy, as he insists that those who do well in training deserve to get the nod on matchday, throwing all hierarchies out of the window.
“Is it risky? It could be. It depends on how you perceive it, I don’t see it that way. It takes so much effort from us to track the conditions of the players and study who can do better at that particular moment.
“Everyone has their own philosophy, they are all respectable. I believe 200% in mine. The decisions will be made based on the work we do during the week, on and off the pitch, the attitude, the technical quality, the physical condition and so on.”
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