As the Bianconeri prepare to face Benfica in a fixture within an immense amount of magnitude within match-week five of the Champions League, Juventus boss Allegri previewed the crucial fixture in a press conference.
Despite their horrendous run of form at the start of the season, the Old Lady seem to be picking up the pieces as they won their last two fixtures within the Serie A, including a dominating 4-0 victory over Empoli at the Allianz over the weekend.
Consequently, Allegri hopes that his men can maintain this consistency within the Champions League as they face an immense hurdle to at the Estadio da Luz. With Juventus currently sitting in third of Group H with a total of three points, a victory would cut the gap between Benfica to only two points and keep themselves well within the race of qualifying to the knockout rounds.
Speaking to the media, as relayed by Tuttomercato, Allegri spoke about the importance of the fixture, as well as the approach his players will have heading into these difficult circumstances tomorrow evening:
“We only have one result but we are neither qualified for the round of 16, therefore out of the Champions League, nor in the Europa League. We have to start tomorrow but it is not up to us: Benfica own their destiny, they are one of the four teams in Europe that do not have still lost to Napoli, PSG and Real Madrid. We have to play a game like most of the first leg, increasing the playing time of the intensity. the same compactness, even improving it, of the last two races.
“We didn’t start badly in the first leg. Tomorrow we have to win to keep the door open. Doing it with two goals would be favorable, but they are still an excellent team.
“With the players I have available now, who are doing well, tomorrow we will try to propose a different form. They have many players on the pitch, we will have to play a very good game from the defensive point of view. We will have to do as in the first leg, eliminating the mistakes of the first leg. It’s an important Champions League match that will tell us if we have the chance to go through with the victory.
In addition, the gaffer touched upon whether a potential failure within the European competition would damper his side’s mentality heading into the rest of the campaign:
“The only risk we have, given the last two games won, is that there is too much euphoria. There is the risk of too much enthusiasm, of being too positive, lowers the immune system, they should not be lowered, the path is to have the compact team. When it is compact, it shows strength in the defensive phase. The important thing is the right attitude with the utmost attention, which we have had in the two games, which has been fluctuating in the previous matches.
“We must not stop this magical moment but make a great performance. Football is made up of episodes: I believe that tomorrow will go well, we must be confident, we have everything to do well. Then tomorrow evening we will put aside what the result will be and we will dive back into the championship because in Lecce it is important. We have to create the conditions to achieve results: the risk now is the too much euphoria that there is for the two victories, the enthusiasm that leads us to lower the famous immune defences. lower and a race of great attention must be made.”