Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri will not be taking Villarreal lightly ahead of its Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday, saying the Spanish team is an expert at getting results against Europe's big sides.
Allegri got Juve through four of five Champions League round of 16 ties during his first spell in charge, his only elimination coming against Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich in 2015-16.
However, Juve has fallen at the last-16 stage in the last two seasons under Maurizio Sarri and Andrea Pirlo, with Allegri issuing a warning about a team, which beat Arsenal and Manchester United en route to winning the Europa League last term.
READ: Crowd violence shuts Greece football supporters' clubs
"It's not an easy route to the quarter finals at all, we have a 50% chance of progressing," Allegri told a news conference on Monday. "They came through a very good group like us.
"They are experts against the very best teams and have got some great recent results. They have a very good coach who does not give advantages.
"Any positive result is good, with the away goal rule having changed. Before you could lose one and win one and you were through, now it's different. A draw in Spain would be a great result."
Allegri said January signing Dusan Vlahovic will make his Champions League debut at Villarreal, alongside Spanish striker Alvaro Morata.
READ: Neymar keen to play in MLS
Morata responded to media reports that he was close to moving to Barcelona in the January transfer window, especially after Vlahovic's 70 million euro signing.
"It is not important (whether he was close to Barca move)," he said. "I talked to the coach about it when the transfer market was there and we talked about the ideas he had.
"He told me how important Dusan's arrival would be for me and so it was. If it were up to me, I would always stay here at Juventus."
Comments
SHARE