Juventus striker Matri relieved to end goal drought

The Old Lady frontman has admitted he was happy to bag his first league strike of the season in a 4-1 victory over Roma to help extend his club's remarkable unbeaten run

Juventus striker Alessandro Matri has admitted he was delighted to find himself of the scoresheet against Roma on Saturday.

The 28-year-old, who joined the club from Cagliari in 2011, scored the third goal of the game as The Old Lady swept away the opposition with a devastating 4-1 win.

Yet despite finding the back of the net, Matri insisted that nobody was guaranteed a place in the starting line-up, with competition for first team places extremely fierce at the Juventus Stadium.

“I’m happy because it’s been a while since I was on the scoresheet. When I gathered Vidal’s pass I realised it represented a good opportunity" he told Sky Sports Italia.

“Playing every three days, the opportunities will come for everyone. The competition spurs us on, the important thing is to try and keep yourself ready and make the most of the chances that will arise.

"Are the strikers more prolific this year? Now the system is established, we know each other better, we know what to do and so everything is a lot simpler.”

The win served to further extend Juve's unbeaten record, which now stands at an outstanding 45 games. But Matri was quick to play down the suggestion that the Scudetto would be heading back to Turin at the end of the season.

“This year we’ve started out as favourites after winning the Scudetto last time out," he added.

"But there are other strong teams, we’ve only played six fixtures and there’s a long way to go in the championship.”