Allegri challenges Inter: “Juve want to defend second place”

Massimiliano Allegri, what match will Juve have to play tomorrow at San Siro against Inter?
«He will have to play a good match: we challenge Inter, who are strong, and will be wonderful in front of 70,000 spectators. She will be fascinating and you will have to be very good at it».

How is Maria doing? And can you play as a starter?
«Today we have the last training session and I have to evaluate, but he’s fine. Then we need to understand the conditions of Bonucci and Miretti, while Milik and Alex Sandro are out. Chiesa is available, he scored and I’m happy ».

Will it be a Chiesa-Di Maria relay?
“Or maybe they’re both out. Kean is disqualified and Milik is knocked out: I have no alternatives. Soulè is not a first striker, I only have Vlahovic up front. The important thing is to play the right match at San Siro, it’s very important for us».

What does Vlahovic expect after he unlocks?
«It’s not a question of Vlahovic, the whole team must do better and a bad second half was played in Germany. Inter rarely lose at home and they are physically strong, plus they have the enthusiasm for the quarter-finals of the Champions League».

Speaking of cups, was Juve the most unlucky of the Italians in the draw?
«Sporting Lisbon is a good team, they have technique and enthusiasm. They are young and good. Then the balls of the draw are like this and in the Champions League the Italians have a 75% chance of reaching the final. It’s a good sign for the Italian championship».

Is Mourinho already in finals mode for how do you tease that Juve shouldn’t be in the Europa League after elimination from the Champions League?
“This is UEFA’s format, perhaps he wanted to attack UEFA.”

Szczesny says Juve can go to the Champions League even with a 15-point penalty. What do you think?
«We must aim to do our best, but direct confrontations are difficult: we lost in Rome, Naples and Milan. The standings are difficult, but we want to make up for it and I repeat it to everyone: the team on the field scored 53 points and we have to think about that. Then we will see on April 19 what will happen ».

Is Locatelli tired? Why wasn’t he called up to the national team?
«I see it well, in Freiburg I took it off when the match was safe. But he’s doing very well.”

Will Gatti be the owner again?
«He is exuberant, he has a lot of energy. He needs to grow in managing the match, but he did well and it could be that he plays again».

How is Pogba doing?
“When he’s well, he’ll be available. However, it will be difficult to see after the break ».

You and Inzaghi are often criticized by the fans, but you get results. Who is right?
«In football, whoever wins is right. At the end of the year, we take stock, we look at what’s going and what’s not going. 5 young players have played for Juve, this is a positive aspect for us. The season isn’t over: now everything is beautiful, but in 20 days it will be the opposite. Because maybe you don’t make it to the final, you’re out of the top 4 and then everything goes wrong. The goal of a team, in this case Juve, is to play all the chances in the cups and finish in the top 4. We have 53 points, 3 more than Inter, and we defend second place. We evaluate what we do on the pitch, if the team – net of penalties – is fifth or sixth then we can say it didn’t go well. Now we defend the second place».