The former Milan trainer has dismissed notions that his side were fortunate to draw Monaco in the Champions League, insisting their victory dismantling of Dortmund was a warning...
Juventus coach Massimliano Allegri has rejected claims his side were lucky to draw Monaco in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, suggesting that the six other sides that avoided the Bianconeri were the fortunate ones.
The reigning Italian titleholders avoided potential clashes against Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich when they were paired with the Principality club on Friday, leaving them odds on to progress past the last eight for the first time since the 2002/03 season.
Juve blitzed Borussia Dortmund 5-1 on aggregate to secure their clash passage to the quarter-finals, which Allegri insists should be seen as a warning shot to the rest of Europe.
“I've read that Juventus apparently got a 'lucky' draw. But I think we can look at it a different way,” he told a press conference on Saturday.
“Considering the way we played at home against Borussia and up in Dortmund maybe it's the other teams who breathed a sigh of relief after avoiding us.”
The Old Lady have lost just one of their last 16 games in all competitions and Allegri went on to say that while his troops are high on confidence, they still have other things to work on.
“I think the players have much greater belief in themselves now. We've all done an amazing job - myself and everyone who works with me, the club - to keep us on an upwards curve. That has to be our aim,” he said.
“We have to kick on and try to iron out the things we're still not doing right.”
Allegri's side sit 14 points clear of second-placed Roma in Serie A and are unbeaten in 18 league games – their last coming against Sunday’s opponents, Genoa.
“We have a very difficult game against Genoa tomorrow, they're the only team that's beaten us in the league,” he said.
“They've picked up 20 points on the road and have got themselves back in the game from losing positions on seven occasions.
“It’s also going to be tough because they’ve had a week to prepare for it, while we basically only have today. So we'll have to come up with a big performance."
