Mission accomplished for Diego

Juventus playmaker Diego stressed the importance of leaving Israel with all three points after the Italian side defeated Maccabi Haifa FC 1-0 for the second time in a fortnight to strengthen their hold on second spot in UEFA Champions League Group A.

'Respect'
Juventus suffered a shock 3-2 defeat by Napoli SSC in Serie A on Saturday but put that behind them with an efficient display at the Ramat Gan Stadium as Mauro Camoranesi's added-time goal at the end of the first half proved the difference. "It was important to get the three points," said Diego. "The Champions League is always hard; it is difficult to play anywhere. We know that and because of that we show teams respect. Maybe it was because of that that we won." Victory leaves Juve four points clear of third-placed FC Bayern München and they would be assured of a place in the knockout phase should they win at leaders FC Girondins de Bordeaux, who have already qualified, in their next match. Diego is looking forward to the challenge. "When you play for a club like Juve you always have to win. We must now concentrate on the next game."

'Hard work'
It was another disappointing night for Haifa coach Elisha Levi and the majority of the 39,120 fans at the Ramat Gan. Haifa are yet to score a goal in the competition and the best they can now hope for is catching Bayern, who they trail by four points, in third place. "The first half was our weakest performance so far in this competition," Levi said. "The players cannot be faulted for a lack of effort or commitment because they did their best, but it wasn't enough." Haifa striker Shlomi Arbeitman has scored 13 goals this season, but like all his team-mates, once again drew a blank in Group A. "It wasn't easy and we conceded a goal out of nowehere," he told uefa.com. "After that it was difficult to get back into it and we struggled. It's a shame but we have to look forward. We tried, we worked hard, but the ball just refused to go in."

'Brave'
Arbeitman, though, remains optimistic as he looked ahead to the Matchday 5 meeting with Bayern. "We will try and salvage something from this group against Bayern. Two good results starting with a victory in Munich could help our chances of finishing third, but is a very hard task." At 24, Arbeitman is already one of the more experienced members of the Haifa side, and the squad's youthfulness should hold them in good stead regardless of the results in the next two matches in the section. "We have a very young side with 18 and 19-year-old players which makes us very dynamic," he said. "To their and our credit, no one felt inferior and we stood our ground bravely."