Max Allegri hails a ‘wonderful day’ after Juventus got 15 Serie A points returned and eliminated Sporting CP to reach the Europa League semi-final. ‘I expected it to be Sevilla.’
The Bianconeri had a 1-0 first leg lead to protect and added to it with the early Adrien Rabiot goal in Lisbon.
That was cancelled out on the night by a Marcus Edwards penalty, also given away by Rabiot, but it proved enough to scrape through 2-1 on aggregate.
“It’s a wonderful day,” smiled Allegri on Sky Sport Italia.
“It was a good performance, especially in the second half, but we must do better in our finishing. The lads behaved well and we were a little bit lucky too.”
It had already been a strong start for the Old Lady, as the verdict came in restoring the 15-point penalty in Serie A, even though it is pending another Federal Court of Appeal hearing.
That could be done before the end of the season or afterwards, everything remains up in the air.
“This is a day where we get 15 points returned, now we need to dive back into Serie A, as we lost points too often recently. We must consolidate our position in the top four.”
They will face Sevilla in the semi-final, who just demolished Manchester United 3-0 this evening, 5-3 on aggregate.
“I expected it to be Sevilla, as they are a tough side and have won many Europa League trophies already.”