Bonucci demands Juve focus on Serie A defence

Posted Friday, January 22, 2016 by foxsportsasia.com

Leonardo Bonucci helped Juventus to a 1-0 Coppa Italia win over Lazio before making it clear that retaining their Serie A crown remains their priority.

Juventus will now face a two-legged semi-final against Inter Milan thanks to Stephan Lichsteiner’s winner, and a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich is also on the horizon.

Bonucci, though, insists that they have to take care of domestic league matters first and foremost.

"It'll be a wonderful challenge to take on Inter in the semi-finals, but right now we have to focus on Serie A," he told Rai Sport.

"Napoli are two points away and will cause us real problems, but we are there and want to fight to the end."

Juventus are right back in the race for the Serie A title despite a wretched start to the campaign which saw them win just one of their first six games.

However, despite calling on the club to make their title defence their focus, Bonucci accepts the expectation that comes with playing for Juventus – no matter the competition.

"Juventus have to win always," he added. "We must spit blood every time we step on to the pitch,.

"In order to push to the end in all three tournaments, we need everyone to contribute. We faced a good Lazio, but we showed our character on the pitch and played our game.

"It could've ended with a bigger scoreline, but the important thing was to win."