13 September 2021
Tomorrow, Juventus will kick off their Champions League campaign in Malmo, where they will go in search of their first competitive win of the season. Ahead of the game, both Massimliano Allegri and Leonardo Bonucci sat down to preview the clash.
Here’s what they had to say:
MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI
The situation right now cannot be compared to the last time we played here in 2014/15. We have to win to lay the right foundations and to be able to face the group in the best possible way. In football, you can never predict what will happen. We must try to make the right things happen. At this moment in the league it has not gone well, despite the fact that the team has the right application. Tomorrow we must be focused on the UEFA Champions League.
Tomorrow it will be important to play a technical match and not allow them too many set-pieces, because they are a very physical team. The matches must be faced with serenity and knowing what to improve on regardless of the results.
We have to keep working, sometimes things happen in football that you don't expect. Szczesny is a high-level goalkeeper and he will play tomorrow. Chiesa wasn't 100%, so we preferred not to run the risk of potentially having him out for a longer period of time. Bernardeschi suffered a knock on Saturday, nothing serious, but again we didn't want to risk him either. Kulusevski is a player who has important qualities but he must improve in his game management. I'll decide tomorrow morning whether or not he starts the match.
We are all responsible and in these moments, we need an even greater sense of responsibility. We have to improve in many things, even in managing the moments of the match and also pay attention to the small details that make the difference. Juventus must set itself the goal of always reaching at least the UCL quarter-finals and then from there you always have to play it as it comes. We always have the desire to win.
LEONARDO BONUCCI
There is a problem of continuity, we have to work knowing what we can do, rediscovering the humility that has characterised Juventus' winning seasons. Only as a team can we resume the path that belongs to us. Tomorrow we have to carry the responsibility for what we do, without holding back. When you wear the Juventus shirt you have to step onto the pitch to achieve the only objective: victory.
The pressure is on us, but when you play for Juventus you have to be used to it. We have to be stronger than all of this, tomorrow will be a challenging match also from a physical point of view. Continuity must be a characteristic of Juventus if we want to reach our goals, regardless of the competition. In every moment, in every day, in every match, we have to give 100% of ourselves.
After Napoli we only thought about training. Szczesny must stay calm and not give weight to criticism. We must all stay focused on the pitch to ensure that this moment passes as quickly as possible. We have studied the opponents who await us tomorrow, we know that we will also be stepping into a fired-up atmosphere, but we can only think about bringing home the three points. Those who wear the Juventus shirt have everyone's trust. Whoever wears it is because they deserve it and shouldn't think about any pressure or criticism.
