Leonardo Bonucci: “People wanted Juventus to fail”

Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci believes his side showed their ‘cojones’ in their Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid.

The Bianconeri not only kept a clean sheet against Diego Simeone’s side but did not face an effort on target during the second leg, which Cristiano Ronaldo with a decisive hat-trick.

“Many were ready to celebrate our defeat,” Bonucci told Sky Sport Italia.

“This is a great night for the Juventus population. Many things were said, both after that game and over the last few days, but Juve always respond on the pitch.

“We had four chances and put three of them in. They did the same in the first leg, having two chances and scoring both.

“We put our cojones into this match. Atleti were missing players, but so were we, and Leonardo Spinazzola put in a great performance in an incredible atmosphere. The stadium crowd really was our 12th man tonight.

“Everything that was said hit us on a human level and that brought more out of us. Our tactical approach was to push down the flanks with Spinazzola and Cancelo, keeping their full-backs deep.

“We have a great Coach who is leading us into the quarter-finals. We know this is football, people can’t wait for you to make a mistake, but the Coach and team are big enough to shrug that off.

“It wasn’t easy, but we completed the comeback. It’s a boost of adrenaline that will push us on to June 1.”

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