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Serie A

Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara has praised his team's mental strength as they held off a determined Atalanta side to win 5-2 on Saturday.

Atalanta had tried to peg Juventus back at 2-1 and 3-2 in Bergamo but Juventus saw the game out.

According to football-italia.net, Ferrara understood how his players felt after Atalanata threatened to comeback - triggering memories of their last game against Napoli.

"In recent games, apart from the one with Napoli, I'd say Juventus have notched up a positive run of results and performances," said the Coach.

"It was a tough game and some concern was understandable when Atalanta twice got back into it, but we kept our cool and I am very satisfied.

"It is a system that forces our opponents to go for the long ball and that means risking a one-on-one sometimes, but all our defenders are internationals so it's a risk worth taking.

"Those were the only two shots on goal from Atalanta, so we weren't really under pressure throughout. There was a distraction and the second goal was just stunning, so not much we could do about that."

Felipe Melo scored a spectacular goal from distance and improved considerably from recent outings.

"Felipe was helped a great deal by the players in front of him, as they put pressure on Atalanta's midfielders which meant he could push up further," explained Ferrara.

This was an emotional match for Ferrara and his former Juventus teammate Antonio Conte, now on the Orobici bench.

"There is clearly a rapport that goes beyond sport and the fact we were facing each other for the first time as opponents was a unique experience.

"I was very pleased to see him and, to be honest, even more pleased to beat him!"

Right now Juve are four points behind leaders Inter, but that could return to seven if the Nerazzurri beat Roma on Sunday evening.