Wojciech Szczesny left Juventus' victory over Sporting CP in the first half after reporting chest problems.
Wojciech Szczesny, the goalkeeper for Juventus, described himself as "scared" after exiting the first leg of his team's quarterfinal Europa League match against Sporting CP due to chest trouble.
Before the first half was over, the Polish international left the field in tears. Mattia Perin was substituted in and played the remaining minutes of the 1-0 victory at Allianz Stadium.
Shortly after the second half resumed, Szczesny was examined by the medical staff and given the all-clear, though he acknowledged being alarmed by the series of events.
He told Sky Sport Italy, "I am fine, I was a little nervous, but we conducted all the tests and everything is great.
I was anxious because it had never occurred to me before and I was having trouble breathing.
Juventus won thanks to Perin's heroics in extra time, when he made two saves to stop Pote and Hector Bellerin. Szczesny was in fine form, making jokes and praising his teammate.
The fact is that I observed Mattia in excellent condition during training, felt exhausted, and knew he would make a superb double save in the 94th [minute].
"No, they shot it directly at him! I congratulated him since he has a kind heart and I get along well with him. Carlo [Pinsoglio] should have entered the game and would have had a hat-trick of outstanding saves today."
Soon after, Perin praised the team's performance while emphasizing that there was still more work to be done.
The team as a whole, he continued, "has been amazing in not succumbing to a victim mentality or bogus alibis, instead we took that bad energy and made it positive, proving we are genuine men.
"The quarterfinal is still halfway through; there are still 90 minutes to go. We can celebrate this victory, but the work is only halfway done."
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