Allegri: 'Juve must finish opponents'
By Football Italia staff
Max Allegri told Juventus not to “rest on our laurels” as they host bottom of the table Chievo. “When opponents are clinging on, you need to finish them.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 19.30 GMT,
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“It’s Juventus-Chievo and we need to take it very seriously indeed,” warned the Coach in his Press conference.
“Since Mimmo Di Carlo has taken over, they’ve managed five draws, a victory and just one defeat. They can believe in and fight for Serie A safety to the very end.
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We must learn to kill games off, because when the opponents are clinging on, you need to finish them. We mustn’t give them the opportunity to get back into it. @JCK This squad has the DNA of champions and that means we must work every day to get better, not rest on our laurels.”
The Bianconeri beat Milan 1-0 in Jeddah on Wednesday to win the Supercoppa, their first trophy of the campaign.
“Rodrigo Bentancur got a knock in Jeddah and is rested. We’ll try to have Mario Mandzukic back against Lazio, while Andrea Barzagli and Medhi Benatia are working towards recovery. Juan Cuadrado is a long way off.
“Miralem Pjanic has a bruised calf muscle, but he’s suspended anyway, so has a week to recover. I believe our big January signing will be Sami Khedira, because he hasn’t been able to contribute much so far this season due to injuries.
“I can confirm we’ll make a few changes tomorrow, so Mattia De Sciglio will be on the right, Alex Sandro on the left, with Mattia Perin in goal. Daniele Rugani will play with either Giorgio Chiellini or Leonardo Bonucci in defence. Federico Bernardeschi will start upfront.”
Allegri had said Leonardo Spinazzola would stay, but opened up the door to a potential loan for Bologna.
“Spinazzola will only leave if we have a suitable replacement.”
Juventus squad for Chievo: Szczesny, Perin, Pinsoglio; De Sciglio, Chiellini, Alex Sandro, Bonucci, Cancelo, Rugani, Spinazzola; Khedira, Matuidi, Emre Can, Bentancur; Ronaldo, Dybala, Douglas Costa, Kean, Bernardeschi
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Meanwhile Atalanta's entire attack is worth less than half of Ronaldo but have scored more goals than Juventus.
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RONALDO – “He doesn’t need Zapata’s goals to have motivations. He is always looking for motivations, like all of us. We need to begin the new year in Serie A in the best way possible. We’ve won the first trophy and we must continue to do well”.
CANCELO – “Tomorrow he will rest. De Sciglio will play on the right, Alex Sandro will play on the left and Rugani will replace one between Chiellini and Bonucci. Perin will replace Szczesny. If we play with two midfielders Douglas Costa will play with Bernardeschi, if we play with three midfielders we’ll see because I need substitutions”.
INJURED – “Let’s see if we can recover Mandzukic for the Lazio clash. It will be difficult but we’ll try. Barzagli is working, Benatia is out and Cuadrado is dead (he laughs). Pjanic is improving after the injury at his calf but tomorrow he is suspended so he has one week to recover”.
TRANSFERS – “He’ll be like a new signing for us. He is our January signing. Spinazzola can leave if we find a replacement. If not, he’ll stay here”.
IMPROVE – “We need to close the games; the solution is mental not tactical. We need to understand when the opponents are about to die and that’s when we must hit them and kill them”.
DNA – “It makes the difference in here. Every day people come here to improve and to reach targets. The DNA makes the difference. It’s hard to win the leagues because you can’t afford stops”.
DYBALA – “He is an important player for us. He has goal chances, he’s always had them. Now we close the action earlier than before. We shoot on target before mainly because of Ronaldo. Paulo can improve, everybody must do a little step ahead”.