Buffon upbeat despite draw

Gianluigi Buffon remains upbeat despite Juventus playing out a goalless draw with Fiorentina on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old was also quick to praise the Viola, who had the best chance of the game when the goalkeeper saw a Stevan Jovetic effort cannon off his crossbar.

“We were tired tonight, just as our opponents may well have been, considering they also played on Saturday. They did well,” said Buffon after the match.

“You can tell Fiorentina have a great coach and a tactical system they believe in. There’s no shame in drawing a game like this.

“We suffered, but they only had three or four dangerous scoring opportunities. The fact we kept a clean sheet means this is a point well earned.”

In the build-up to the fixture, it was speculated that suspended coach Antonio Conte would be exposed to Tuscan supporters in the stands of the Artemio Franchi, but Buffon praised the atmosphere in the stadium.

“The public in Florence responded well to the situation, as did ours. There were no incidents and the rivalry was maintained on an acceptable level,” he said.

Meanwhile, Juventus interim boss Massimo Carrera admitted Fiorentina deserved all the plaudits following their attempts in stifling the attacking potential of his side.

“It isn’t always necessary to crush your opponents, as at times you also have to be good at containing them,” the former defender argued.

“Fiorentina deserve a lot of credit, as they ran hard for 90 minutes and played very well. We were unable to do what we wanted to.

“We knew Fiorentina would put in the performance of a lifetime, so it was a show of strength for us to keep them quiet and maintain the clean sheet.

“We had to block David Pizarro, although we didn’t manage it that often.”