Press room | Comments after St. Polten-Juventus Women | OneFootball

The Women's First Team beat St. Polten 3-0 in Austria to take control of their UEFA Women's Champions League third qualifying round tie.

Isaac Guerrero and Larissa Rusek spoke to the press after the match. 

ISAAC GUERRERO

“We knew we were up against a very competitive side, one that is determined to reach the next stage of the competition. We tried to approach the match with the right attitude, staying focused and alert, whilst trying to play our own game, maintain possession and keep our opponents on the move. Step by step, we managed to find the moments to step up a gear and build a lead. We were up against a team that is performing very well and which deserves credit for the great work it has done in recent years. We’re very happy with the result, but we know there’s a second leg ahead of us in which we’ll have to keep fighting to achieve our main objective, which is to get through this round. Overall, I’m very pleased with our players. We’re facing a major challenge, with five matches in 17 days, and it’s only natural that at certain points in the second half we struggled a bit to find the right rhythm on the ball. On the whole, however, we managed to do what we set out to do, maintaining possession and trying to stretch our opponents. The talent of our players allowed us to make the difference. We could have scored more goals, as we had several chances, but we’re very pleased with the team’s performance.

“One of our objectives was to spend more time in the opposition’s half, to get more players into the box and to create more attacking opportunities. I think we managed to do that well today, showing the necessary patience against a deep-lying defence. The girls read the game very well. I’m very pleased with their mentality. We’d asked for responsibility, ambition and character to face what we consider to be the first final of the season. Qualifying for the Champions League is as good as a title for us, and we want to approach the second leg with the same mindset. When you have a squad like ours, the coaching staff’s job is to support the players, give them direction and, above all, the courage to express themselves. Tati Pinto read the game very well, she knows how to get into space and is clever with her movement. Martina Rosucci, on the other hand, is a player who has won everything with this club. We make the most of her leadership, she sets an example in every training session and every match. I’m very pleased with both of them and, more generally, with the whole squad: every player offers us different solutions, and that’s very important to us.”

LARISSA RUSEK

"It’s always lovely for me to come home to such a beautiful country. Since joining Juventus, I feel I’ve grown a lot, especially in recent months. With our new coach, we’re working hard on building play from the back, and I think we’ve made significant progress in recent weeks. We have big goals for this season. We want to win Serie A and go as far as possible in the Champions League. We’re a very strong team, with lots of quality players, and I’m convinced we can do very well. We’ll see how far we can go, but we’re confident and very pleased with the progress we’re making.”

UWCL | St.Pölten-Juventus | Gallery