Marchisio: Juventus reaping the rewards of hard work

Claudio Marchisio feels that Juventus' hard work throughout the season is starting to pay off as the team's impressive fitness has given it the advantage over its opponents more than once this term.

The Bianconeri beat Cesena 1-0 on Wednesday courtesy of a late Marco Borriello strike to stay three points clear of AC Milan in the Serie A table.

"Our excellent fitness is thanks to the work we do on a daily basis. Perhaps not all of us accepted it at the start, because we were used to different methods. However, we’ve taken on board how much it pays off and we’re reaping the rewards," Marchisio stated to the official Juve website.

Marchisio went on to explain that his team, despite being first in the table, can't under estimate any opponent.

"The match against Cesena showed that you must never underestimate any team," he said. "The Roma game seemed difficult yet we saw them off in half an hour. Wednesday’s game should have been more straightforward, at least on paper, and we struggled more.

"But we’re still first and now we’ll regain our strength to play another game on a synthetic pitch, a type of surface that drains your energy."

Juventus resumes Serie A action on Sunday when it travels to Novara.