[Juventus' American midfielder #16 Weston McKennie celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League 1st round day 1 football match between Juventus FC and PSV Eindhoven, at the Juventus Stadium in Turin on September 17, 2024. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP) (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images)
Juventus' American midfielder #16 Weston McKennie celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League 1st round day 1 football match between Juventus FC and PSV Eindhoven, at the Juventus Stadium in Turin on September 17, 2024. (Photo by Isabella BONOTTO / AFP) (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images)](https://football-italia.net/mckennie-champions-league-easier-for-juventus/) Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie has claimed that it is easier to play in the Champions League for a team like Juventus than it is to face ‘lower level’ sides in Serie A, joining Milan coach Paulo Fonseca and a growing list of others who believe in the same theory.
The Bianconeri midfielder has given an in-depth interview to CBS Sports, where he discussed Juventus’s unbeaten run, the difficulties of competing in Serie A and the form of some of his USA international teammates.
McKennie: ‘Easier for Juventus to play against higher level teams in the Champions League’
McKennie, like Fonseca, believes that it is easier to play in the Champions League against teams who tend to stick to their own systems and styles of play, compared to lower ranked teams in Serie A who might change their tactics when facing a ‘big’ club like Juventus.
TURIN, ITALY - DECEMBER 11: Weston McKennie of Juventus scores his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Juventus and Manchester City at Juventus Stadium on December 11, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
Weston McKennie of Juventus scores his team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Juventus and Manchester City at Juventus Stadium on December 11, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
The USMNT star also feels it is difficult for his team to work on new tactical ideas midway through the season given the increasingly packed fixture list, which includes Serie A matches, Champions League games, the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, and now the FIFA Club World Cup for Juventus as well.
Speaking to CBS, McKennie said: “It’s much easier to play the way we want to play whenever we play against higher level teams like Champions League matches, because those teams have quality and they want to come out and play the way they want to play, versus playing a smaller team where they’re like ‘okay, we might change the way that we play in a way to hurt them in a way that doesn’t allow them to play their game.”
“Most of the time if a team sits back, it makes it more difficult for any team to try and break it down, do runs in behind, one-on-ones on the side.
“We’re definitely going to be working on that whenever we have the time to. With our schedule and this season, it’s rare to be able to find moments to be able to work on something 100% because it’s mainly just recover and play, recover and play.”
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