Cabal pleased to repay Motta´s faith after victorious Juventus return

Juventus left-back Juan Cabal was pleased to repay the faith of coach Thiago Motta after returning from injury to star in their 1-0 win over Lazio.

Cabal joined from Verona in July for €11million but has battled a niggling hamstring issue at the start of his Bianconeri career, missing the last six weeks.

He returned to face Lazio on Saturday, with his cross forcing an own goal from Mario Gila as Juventus avoided a fifth draw in the space of six games.

After the match, the Colombia international revealed Lazio had shown an interest in him previously, but said he only ever had eyes for Juve.

“Lazio looked for me before, but I was only thinking about Juve. I wanted to play for Juve since I was a kid and now I am here,” Cabal told reporters.

“We all know Juve’s history. We have to give our lives for Juve.

“The coach saw something different and put me out, but he has faith in me. He put me on the pitch at the right time.

1 – Juventus have conceded just one goal in Serie A this season and they have never conceded so few goals after eight games in a single #SerieA campaign (previously two in 1966/67, 1986/87, 2004/05 and 2005/06). Wall.#JuveLazio

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) October 19, 2024

“It is difficult not to play for so long. But we must always be ready. I work all week to play even one minute,”

Saturday’s win took unbeaten Juventus to 16 points from eight matches, level on points with leaders Napoli, who possess a game in hand.

“The important thing is to try to win every game. We want to be champions, but I can’t tell you now that we will win the championship,” Cabal said.