Barella admits the France striker surprised him with how he settled last term.
He told DAZN: "When players are strong they always come out. Getting in so easily was incredible because it takes a bit of adaptation, our way of playing is not easy, each of us has to interpret their role in a certain way to be complementary and he was the addition that made us take a step further: he lengthens the team, he is good at coming into play and he is a spectacular guy, this is the most important thing."
Asked if Thuram remains Robin and Lautaro Martinez, Batman, Barella also said: "I don't know who is Robin or Batman, but they are certainly a good pair. When you play with players like that it is also easier for Taremi, Correa and Arnautovic to come in and give us a hand because with two you can't have a championship and it is also important to mention the others who when they were called upon always gave their contribution and were ready."
Asked about the weekend showdown with Lazio, Barella also admitted: "Looking at Lazio now... It's not a surprise, they've always been a difficult team to beat, it's always been a difficult pitch, I've always respected them as a team and a club. They deserve compliments for the spark they've found, but we logically have to look at our path and we'll try to continue it by beating all the teams, whether it's Lazio, Milan, Juve...
"After you win a championship, finding that mentality is never easy, but it will come, the important thing is to recognize our qualities, find that compactness that we had lost a bit at the beginning, which has always been our strong point. In the last few games I think we're seeing what we had kept in the Champions League... Now we're bringing it back to the championship."
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