Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has set his eyes on the UEFA Europa League final but a major challenge lies ahead of them in the semifinal of the Europa League on Friday in the Allianz Stadium.
Sevilla have won the Europa League title four times in the past ten years. Even though Sevilla have had a season way below their standards, they still possess a major threat in the UEFA Europa competition. “Juventus have played in two European finals in recent years and we want to reach this one too. The three most important weeks of all lie ahead of us now,” Allegri said in the pre-match conference as quoted by Juventus.
“Sevilla have won the Europa League four times and the UEFA Cup twice – they’ve got bags of experience and never lie down. We’ll need to put on a great performance,”he said. Three years ago Inter Milan ended Juventus’s dominance in the Serie A league and since that moment they have been looking to restore their dominance in Italy.
They have gone through various changes in terms of management as well as the squad and Allegri believes that this experience has helped them to mature. “We’ve matured so much this year and we’ve come through the experience stronger. We now have four league games left as well as these two legs of the semi-final. We need to do what we’ve always talked about: give everything on the pitch and see where that takes us,” Allegri said.
World Cup winner Angel Di Maria has been one of the crucial players in Allegri’s system. All eyes will rest on him to produce goals or set up assists for his teammate. In five matches he has scored four goals for Juve in the UEFA Europa League.
Along with expectations from Di Maria, Juve’s manager also gave an update on the availability of players for Friday’s clash. “Angel [Di Maria] knows exactly what’s needed of him tomorrow. When the result matters, he’s always come to the fore and his career speaks for itself. [Arkadiusz] Milik is so cool-headed. I’ve been surprised by him as a person. Bremer won’t play tomorrow due to a strain. The rest of the players are fine,” Allegri added.