Conte in high spirits after Juve comeback

Juventus coach Antonio Conte labelled his side a ‘great team’ after coming back from behind to beat Catania 3-1 in Serie A on Saturday.

An Andrea Pirlo-inspired Juventus eventually coasted to a comfortable victory on the night, and the 42-year-old was pleased to see his players put on a display of maturity and professionalism, but also reserved credit for their Sicilian opponents at Juventus Stadium.

“We were good tonight, we were concentrated and mature and gave an excellent response to the fans, as we showed that we are a great team,” Conte said.

“We are a large group and it was also seen in our celebrations tonight. I knew we’d face a strong and motivated team like Catania, who also showed their strength.”

“They have some very interesting players and it is proof that (sporting director Pietro) Lo Monaco and the board are doing a great job.”

Conte said the reason behind his decision to ring the changes from the XI that started the goalless draw against Parma was a simple matter of resting players ahead of a hectic schedule.

“On Wednesday we played Parma and (the players) had little time to recover,” he said.

“We also have a month of matches every three days coming up, and for this I needed to deploy a different team from the beginning to keep things fresh for the rest of the season.”

The coach was also anxious to stress the outcome of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s hearing for his red card appeal will not affect his plans ahead of the clash with AC Milan next weekend.

“I trust that the right decision will be made. However, we’re going to San Siro to play and win the game, without thinking that Ibrahimovic may or may not feature,” he said.

Juventus have now moved two points clear of Milan on the Serie A table.