Cuadrado: I´ve never scored a more important goal

Juventus winger Juan Cuadrado has described his last-minute winner against Torino on Saturday as the most important goal of his career to date.

Paul Pogba put the Serie A champions ahead but Cesare Bovo’s second-half equaliser looked to have earned a share of the spoils for Torino in the derby clash at Juventus Stadium.

However, Cuadrado converted Alex Sandro’s cross in injury time to secure maximum points and send Juve up to 10th in the table, and the Chelsea loanee hopes the win can serve as a springboard for the rest of the campaign.

“It’s the most important goal of my career so far. I’ve never been able to do something decisive like that at the last minute. It’s a really good feeling,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“This goal gives me a big boost. I’m sure victory in the derby will be a turning point.

“I believe in the Scudetto. Of course, we’re in the position of having to treat each game like a final, but we don’t lack quality. We’re strong, we can recover.

“God helped us a little, because it was tough against a team like Torino, but I think we deserved the result.”

Reports in Italy suggest Cuadrado’s agent will attempt to negotiate a permanent move to Juventus over the coming days, and the Colombia international admits he is relishing life back in the Italian top flight.

“I hope Chelsea and [manager Jose] Mourinho recover as soon as possible. They are strong, they’ll react,” he said of his parent club’s struggles this season, which culminated in a 3-1 loss to Liverpool on Saturday.

“I can’t describe all my love for Serie A, Italian football, for a country that feels like a second home. 

“I’m at 70 per cent at the moment, I want to achieve things when I hit my top form. We’re almost there.”