Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said on Monday he had not given up on qualifying for the Champions League last 16 as his side prepare to visit Benfica in Group H on Tuesday.
Allegri’s side must beat Benfica and Paris St Germain to stand a chance of reaching the knockout stages but their fate is out of their hands as it sits five points behind those two teams, who both still have to play bottom side Maccabi Haifa.
“We are not eliminated yet, nor have we qualified for the round of 16, and we’re not even sure of going to the Europa League, but tomorrow only one result will do. It’s not all down to us, but everything is still possible,” he told reporters.
“We must win to keep the door open. Benfica are in charge of their own destiny. They are one of the four unbeaten teams in Europe, together with Napoli, Paris St Germain and Real Madrid. Also, they have a different drive in front of their fans and we know it.”
Benfica, who will guarantee a last-16 spot with a victory, fought back for a 2-1 win at Juve in the first game on Sept. 15 with goals from Joao Mario and David Neres after the Italians took a fourth-minute lead through Arkadiusz Milik.
“We have to play as we did for a good part of the home match, but increasing the duration of our intensity,” Allegri said. “We didn’t start badly. We will try to win by two goals, but we know they are very strong.”
Juve won two consecutive Serie A games for the first time this season by beating Empoli 4-0 at home on Friday after edging Torino 1-0 away the previous week.
“In the last two games, we had the right attitude, which hasn’t always happened. The magic moment must not stop. I’m optimistic, we have everything we need to do well,” Allegri said.
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