Buffon: 'Juve were complacent'

Gigi Buffon admits Juventus “were complacent in January” after securing a 2-1 victory over Chievo, but welcomes the pressure piled on them by Napoli.

The Bianconeri went into the Christmas break with an eight-point lead, which was quickly whittled down to three, and were eliminated in the Coppa Italia semi-final.

“It was a bit of a difficult time, because analysing the games we did not win, you could tell we weren’t in our best form,” the goalkeeper told Sky Sport Italia.

“In January it all went wrong for us and we were a little complacent too. Now we are in the battle for the Scudetto and finally the opponents are revealing themselves, so we are not just challenging our own records. It’s much more fun this way.

“It is very motivating to play knowing you cannot afford to get anything wrong. There are 15 games to go and everything is still up for grabs. I welcome more Scudetto rivals.

“The same is true of preparing for the Champions League against Celtic. Certain players perform better under pressure. At the end of December people acted like we’d almost won the Scudetto already, but that is not the case.”

Napoli are now just three points adrift and had been level top of the table overnight.

“When they earn five wins and draw one in six games, including a victory away to Parma in the final minutes, it is clear they believe in their capabilities.

“Napoli have been playing together in this group for many years and are consolidated, so have everything it takes to win the Scudetto.”

well said