Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri hailed his side's "admirable" Derby d'Italia defeat of Serie A rival Inter Milan on Sunday, and expressed his belief the convincing performance came at the right moment for the club.
Juventus used second-half goals from Leonardo Bonucci and Alvaro Morata to comfortably beat Inter in Turin, just days after a shaky midweek performance in their Champions League last-16 first leg draw with Bayern Munich.
Speaking to Mediaset Premium, Allegri praised his side after the much-deserved win.
"The lads did really well and it was important to take home the victory," Allegri said.
"This was an admirable performance after the intense Tuesday night game with Bayern Munich.
"Inter are a tough side and they will continue to challenge for third place."
Juve must now ready for another meeting with the San Siro side at the midweek, when they face each other in their Coppa Italia second leg semifinal.
Juventus hold a commanding 3-0 advantage heading back to Milan, but Allegri promised Roberto Mancini's side will have their full attention.
"We have moved them further away from the top, but we are already thinking about Wednesday's Coppa Italia semifinal," Allegri said.
"I realised in the first leg that our season was changing. Now we have one less obstacle on our path to the Scudetto, we remain top of the table and there are 11 left. The more we win, the less we have left to do."
Bonucci scored the opener two minutes after the break with a fine volley after a failed clearance from a set piece.
The Italy international described the goal, then backed his coach's assessment of the road ahead.
"When I saw the ball come towards me, I tried to hit it as powerfully as possible," Bonucci said.
"I was fortunate to keep it down and not hit Samir Handanovic. We simply had to win, regardless of the fact we were facing Inter.
"Two draws in a row were too many, we had to get back to winning ways."
Substitute Morata capped the scoring after drawing and converting a penalty in the 84th minute.
"Players coming off the bench can be decisive," Allegri said.
"At the end of the season whether you played more or less, everyone contributed and everyone wins."