MY ACCOUNT
Massimiliano Allegri says Juventus do not need to change their style to see the best of Dusan Vlahovic, as the striker prepares to face former club Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
However, Allegri did acknowledge the Bianconeri must improve their attacking returns after seeing nine Serie A outfits outscore them this season.
After winning the first leg 1-0 in Florence, Juventus, who have progressed from each of their last six Coppa Italia semi-finals, remain among the favourites for a sixth domestic cup triumph in eight seasons, having lifted the trophy in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2021.
The Bianconeri are, though, just the 10th-highest scorers in Serie A despite Vlahovic netting seven goals in 14 appearances in all competitions since his January arrival, having scored 20 in 24 games for his previous employers this term.
Ahead of the Old Lady’s decisive cup meeting with Vlahovic’s former club, Allegri was adamant Juve did not need to change to accommodate the Serb, but acknowledged improvements were needed.
“Absolutely not,” he replied when asked if changes might benefit Vlahovic. “Vlahovic has played 14 games and scored seven goals.
“Right now, we can’t play like we did in November or December, because the games weigh more. There is no chance to recover.
“We need to improve the tenth place in the ranking of goals scored, we need to be more concrete.
“In football there is one thing that remains old, but it still counts: the goal difference, which then leads you to win or lose the championships.”
Allegri has reached the Coppa Italia final four times as Juventus manager, already more than any other Bianconeri manager in history. His only elimination before the competition’s final came in 2018-19’s quarter-finals, a 3-0 loss to Atalanta.
The 54-year-old lifted Italy’s domestic cup on all four occasions where he reached the final, and says Juve’s strong run will count for nothing if they fall short of winning the trophy.
Although he also emphasised the importance of a top-four league finish and said a semi-final win would not “turn around” the season, he noted that reaching a final was a “good goal”.
“The Coppa Italia only counts if you win it,” he added. “If you lose it, you have failed completely. As for the championship, Juve must now think about finishing in the top four.
“In early January, no one would have expected Juventus to be five points clear of fifth [Roma] with five games to go. Now we have to be good at defending [against] them.
“We haven’t won games in which we played well, we lacked that little bit more to make the leap forward. We have to work on this, and the next year will surely be better.
“Tomorrow’s game does not make the season turn around, but it will allow us to go to the final and it would be a good goal.”
Juventus have lost only one of their last 25 home games in the Coppa Italia (winning 20 and drawing four). Coincidentally, this was a defeat against Fiorentina in the 2014-15 semi-finals, when Mohamed Salah netted a brace for the Viola and Fernando Llorente scored for the Bianconeri.
