26 September 2016
Shortly after touching down in Croatia this evening and taking in surroundings at the Maksimir Stadion, Massimiliano Allegri settled into his press conference to preview Tuesday night’s Champions League Group H game against Dinamo Zagreb.
Here is what the Tuscan tactician had to say ahead of tomorrow’s all-important tie:
Keys for victory
“How many points will suffice to reach the next round? Let’s just focus on earning all three tomorrow night by playing a precise and solid 90 minutes. What we can be sure of is that we are in for a difficult evening; winning anywhere on the road in Europe is a challenge.”
Team news
"Patrice Evra is in the frame to start in defence, especially since Alex Sandro has played five of our last six matches. Evra, like Alex, has the quality to play in more than one position and it presents us with more options tactically. Hernanes, Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanic will start in midfield.
“Gonzalo Higuain likewise will play from the off. Pipita has different characteristics from our other forward players and his understanding with his team-mates on the field will keep improving with time.
“Little runs of fixtures like these come around once or twice a season and it’s normal that fatigue can set in. With that in mind, tomorrow’s match will be won not only by the XI out on the field but also by those on the bench.”
Feet firmly grounded
“In Serie A, we’ve picked up 15 points from our opening six outings; some of those were deserved, others less so. What I can’t stress enough is the fact that victories aren’t given out for free. We mustn’t assume that we can just turn up and score three or four goals per game. The important thing for us at the moment is to get our feet back on the ground and fight to earn every win.
“Playing well naturally goes hand in hand with being successful; even if we pick up five victories on the spin, that isn’t enough; the target must be to improve our game with every passing week.
“The best teams lift trophies at the end of the season and they do that by remaining focused from minute to minute and from month to month.
“We believe that we have the quality to match the continent’s best sides but that doesn’t mean we should take things for granted. The very best teams push to the very end of the campaign and prevail by working hard, remaining humble and fighting for each other.”
