11 March 2019
The underlying message was clear – it’s a must win and Allegri and Chiellini know exactly what is needed in order to turn over the two-goal deficit from the first leg.
“Tomorrow we have to be good at reading the moments of the game,” revealed Allegri before adding. “Atleti have won three Europa Leagues and have played in two Champions League finals, they are one of the strongest teams in Europe the last few years. Tomorrow, we need to be at our best. And we know how.”
THE FIRST LEG RESULT
“The team did well in the first half of the first leg. The only error we made was that we thought we had escaped danger after the woodwork. We need to put on display our quality and our characteristics, with aggression and through the help of the fans. We all have to give something more tomorrow by taking out our emotional level, and giving 100%, to overcome the result without regrets.”
ON THE TEAM
“I still need to decide who plays tomorrow. Set-pieces will be very important, who knows, Miralem Pjanic may even score as he did in Naples. Douglas Costa was almost ready, but today he had another set-back. Better today than tomorrow. The defensive module changes nothing, it’s the attitude that counts and aggression. Caceres is a great player, of absolute performance, his career has been halted by injury. Spinazzola? It’s possible that he may start tomorrow, we shall see.”
Chiellini also relayed his thoughts on the forthcoming match, which will be a special night for him in more ways than one, as he will feature in his 500th match for the Bianconeri.
"I know that tomorrow could be my 500th match with Juve and I hope it can be remembered,” revealed the skipper.” If I had to choose a match that represented the other 499, I would say the 0-0 we achieved at the Camp Nou. But our objectives are more important than anything else…"
LOOKING TO TOMORROW
“We're excited for tomorrow night's match, we want to qualify and go all the way. We are used to these types of situations and we are hoping to experience a magical Champions League night. Everyday we've all thought at least once about tomorrow's game. With full respect to our opponents, we want to continue our adventure.”
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN
“In football, one moment is enough to change everything. We didn’t expect the last week's results (in the Champions League), but this is evident that few things are enough to reverse the result. The result we start from isn't disastrous but we will have to be very focused.
“Atletico is a team that defends well. We know their characters and it is a team similar to ours, because it’s difficult to concede goals. They have their own weaknesses like we do. In respect to Madrid, we need to expose them.”
A FAMILIAR FACE
“Alvaro Morata is a great guy, we all hoped he would stay at Juventus. We love him and we will continue to, regardless. Tomorrow we have to be careful of him, Griezmann and the other opponents.”
