11 April 2017
It's not over yet and Massimiliano Allegri knows it, despite a magnificent 3-0 first-leg triumph over Barcelona.
“I'm not going to put a percentage on our chances of going through; all I'll say is we'll have to score at Camp Nou,” the boss insisted after the game.
Not that he was in the mood for playing down his side's display, as goals by Paulo Dybala and Giorgio Chiellini handed the Bianconeri a healthy advantage to take to Spain next week.
“We were excellent tonight, we really were – both defensively and going forward,” Allegri continued.
“We have a fine mix of technical and physical attributes. The lads are improving all the time and they deserve everything they've managed to achieve.
“We've made some big strides forward – thanks to the club, obviously – and the best proof of that is that we now command respect in Europe.
“It's a big result tonight because we've done exactly what we were looking to do. We've shown people that we can hold our own in games like this.”
Match analysis
“We read the game well in the first half. If I have to find a fault, we were sometimes too hurried in trying to get the ball forward when we could have laid it off. We'll remember that going into the return leg.
“As I said though, the lads were really switched on tonight, cutting out Barca's passing lanes and watching the runners. We were great going forward too. Our passing was good and we played intelligently.”
Dybala and the squad* *
“Paulo is a great player and he was magnificent today, but I'm delighted with the whole lot of them because they really were superb. We have strength throughout the squad and that's especially important in this period with all the games we have to play one after another. They all have a big part to play.”
