Aquilani hails Del Piero masterclass

Juventus midfielder Alberto Aquilani has praised Alessandro Del Piero for his match-winning performance against Brescia on Sunday.

Brescia travelled to Turin hoping to take full advantage of a clash with reeling Juve, who had secured just one point from their past four Serie A outings.

Things looked dire for Juve when Brazilian striker Eder equalised for the visitors in the shadows of half-time, cancelling out Milos Krasic’s opener, but a little bit of magic from Del Piero ensured the Turin giants would take a much-needed three points.

The veteran striker took possession at the centre circle and charged towards goal, manoeuvring around three defenders and chipping his shot into the top-left corner in the 68th minute.

Speaking after the match, on-loan Liverpool man Aquilani paid tribute to Del Piero’s stature at the Stadio Olimpico.

“Del Piero is a champion. Any great team has a champion and he is ours,” Aquilani said.

“Today he gave us three points. He scored an unbelievable goal, even if I think the whole team should be credited for that, not only him. We believed in this victory and we got it with some sacrifice.”

“It is definitely an important win, in a delicate moment for us. We had to win today.”

“There aren’t easy matches in Serie A. They say Juventus at home against Brescia is a sure victory for Juventus, but it’s never like that.”

“We had some difficulties today too, but our attitude changed and that’s the attitude we should keep after the (international) break.”

Juve boss Luigi Delneri, whose tenure has come under increasing speculation following his side’s winless run, admitted the hosts struggled against relegation-threatened Brescia.

“We lacked a bit of confidence, results were not coming and to tell the truth playing against Brescia wasn’t easy,” Delneri said.

“They did well both against Napoli and Inter and gained important points. They missed a penalty against Inter two minutes from time; otherwise they would have won.”

“We didn’t concede much, they had some good chances but the most important opportunities were ours and Krasic and Del Piero scored two great goals.”

“The team didn’t give up much for the rest of the game and played very well both in defence and attack.”