Locatelli: ‘My Juventus supporting family will be happy’
Manuel Locatelli admits his winning goal in the derby will make his ‘family of Juventus supporters very happy’ today, even if he did get headbutted by Giorgio Chiellini.
The Granata dominated the first half, but the Bianconeri emerged as time wore on, thanks also to the tactical changes that saw Juan Cuadrado introduced and Federico Chiesa moved into a centre-forward role.
Locatelli got the winning goal in the final minutes, firing in off the inside of the upright, while Dejan Kulusevski also hit the woodwork late on.
The celebrations after the goal were a little chaotic, with Chiellini it seems getting too close to his teammate.
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“Giorgio headbutted me, so I will surely have a bruise tomorrow!” Locatelli told DAZN.
“The squad welcomed me so well, we’re a great group of friends and everyone is humble, so that’s what really matters.
“We won the derby, it’s a wonderful feeling. It’s the derby, but we also needed a step forward in the table. Now there’s the break for international duty, we can recharge our batteries and then resume where we left off.”
Max Allegri continues to give Locatelli advice, but there is perhaps more defending to be done at Juve than Sassuolo.
“The coach expects a lot from me and I am trying to do everything to improve. It was tough today, Fede saw me and gave a great assist, it was a good goal.
“It is certainly a different philosophy to Sassuolo, but the fact remains we are here to win and that’s what we want to do.”
Locatelli revealed when he joined Juve that he had always been a fan of the Bianconeri.
“My Dad and uncle always come to cheer me on. I have a whole family of Juventus supporters at home right now who are very happy.”
Manuel Locatelli strikes late for Juventus in the Turin derby!
It’s a lovely finish from the Italian midfielder
pic.twitter.com/H1L2xAaCUk
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) October 2, 2021