Peluso 'surprised' by Naples start

January signing Federico Peluso admits even he wasn’t expecting to be in the starting XI for Napoli-Juventus.

The former Atalanta midfielder was an unexpected pick in last night’s 1-1 draw at the Stadio San Paolo.

“I honestly wasn’t expecting to start, but the Coach keeps everyone in mind. We are all ready when called upon,” confessed Peluso.

“Antonio Conte was directing me from the touchline. I try to fill different roles and do not have a preference, as I know that being versatile I have more opportunities to play.

“There is always the desire to win here at Juve and the Coach is very good at transmitting that mentality to the squad.

“I hoped to settle in quickly after my transfer, as I already knew Conte from our work together at Atalanta.”

Juventus are now six points clear of Napoli and have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after winning the first leg 3-0 away to Celtic.

“That Champions League game gave us back our self-belief, but the hiccups we had in January hadn’t really knocked us down. We were already aware that we were overcoming that difficult moment.”