07 November 2014
With two goals in his three home appearances against Parma in the black and white stripes, Stephan Lichtsteiner has every reason to be looking forward to this weekend’s visit of the Gialloblu.
But while the bookmakers have the hosts down as strong favourites to continue their string of consecutive victories at Juventus Stadium, the Swiss international is instead calling for caution against a side he believes will be galvanised following their recent success over Inter.
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sport Italia, Lichtsteiner began: “They’ve regained confidence following last week’s win. Even if they’re currently going through a difficult period they still have some fine players in their ranks and there’s no chance we’ll be taking them lightly. Cassano possesses plenty of quality and we need to be alert, but not just to his threat.”
A midweek tactical adjustment by Massimiliano Allegri saw Lichtsteiner line up on the right side of a back four during the Champions League meeting with Olympiacos.
Much has been made of the change in formation, but the 30-year-old insists the Bianconeri defensive setup remains solid regardless of the specific tactics deployed.
“We’re that strong at the back that it makes little difference to be honest. A more European system? Perhaps, but we’ve also put in excellent performances with a back three and been a little bit unlucky. We’ve always believed in ourselves and aside from the first half in Athens we’ve played well and created a great deal.”
Ending with a thought on Allegri, Lichtsteiner expressed his admiration for his manager’s seamless integration into the Bianconeri environment.
“He’s an excellent coach and an intelligent person. He knew it wouldn’t be easy to come into an environment in which three straight Scudetto titles had just been won, but he’s done very well and you can tell that by how we're playing.”
