Juventus vs Lazio - Leonardo Bonucci issues rallying call to team-mates

Posted Saturday, January 21, 2017 by PA

Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci has warned his team-mates they must cut out all errors if they want to end the season with some domestic silverware.

A 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina last time out left Juve with just a single point advantage at the top of Serie A, and if results go against them this weekend they could find themselves toppled by Roma.

Top-four rivals Lazio are the visitors to the Juventus Stadium on Sunday and Bonucci knows another defeat is unthinkable for Massimiliano Allegri's men.

"We sat down as a team and acknowledged that what happened in Florence was a wake-up call," he told the club's official website.

"We don't have any more time for mistakes. Juventus should never play badly twice in a row.

"As ever, we need to learn from our defeats and come out of them stronger than we were before. Now is the time to show once again that, at a mental level, Juventus are the toughest out there in Italy and can mix it with the best in Europe.

"It's time to step up and show what we're made of, no more slip-ups between now and the end of the season."

Bonucci added: "A strong run of form is good for morale but we must not assume anything at this level. I can't repeat that enough. We've made too many mistakes recently - that has come from a dip in desire and intensity in our approach to games.

"Coming together and fighting back as a team is the only way we are going to end the season successfully. I have no doubt that from now on, you will be seeing the true Juventus.

"To win you need to have that fire in your belly to win the 50-50s, put your body on the line for your team-mates, cut out silly errors and play as a team both defensively and going forward. We've considered all of this as a group and that awareness should serve as extra motivation for us."

Lazio will be no pushovers, however. Simone Inzaghi's men lie just five points off top spot and make the trip to Turin with back-to-back league victories under their belt.

Juventus won the reverse fixture 1-0 last August but Inzaghi feels his team have grown since then.

"Juventus will be hurting (from the Fiorentina defeat), so we're going to gamble openly. We're well prepared and the players are focused," the Lazio coach told a press conference covered by Lazio's Twitter feed.

"The scepticism we had at the beginning of the season is gone now. The players are happy and we're competitive. We are no longer a surprise, we're growing.

"We are playing against a great team and will have to start well, giving little away. But I'm confident the team are confident.

"It's been 19 matches since the first game between us. We've grown up since then and Juve will find a much more convincing Lazio."

Defender Dusan Basta, midfielder Senad Lulic and striker Ricardo Kishna will all miss out for the visitors.