Juventus legend Claudio Gentile admits that the Bianconeri didn’t deserve to win Sunday’s derby, and challenges his old club to do better in Europe.
A last-gasp winner from Andrea Pirlo gave the Old Lady a 2-1 win over the Granata in the Derby della Mole, after a wondergoal from Bruno Peres had cancelled out Arturo Vidal’s opener.
Juventus legend Claudio Gentile admits that the Bianconeri didn’t deserve to win Sunday’s derby, and challenges his old club to do better in Europe.
A last-gasp winner from Andrea Pirlo gave the Old Lady a 2-1 win over the Granata in the Derby della Mole, after a wondergoal from Bruno Peres had cancelled out Arturo Vidal’s opener.
That strike gave the champions their 25th home win in a row, but Gentile, who spent 11 seasons in Turin and won six Scudetti, doesn’t think his old club was deserving of the victory, although he praised the spirit of Massimiliano Allegri’s men.
“Torino didn’t deserve to lose,” Gentile reflected to Tuttomercatoweb.
“A draw would have been a fairer result, but when you have champions you win even when you don’t deserve it.
“Here’s the difference: Juventus have players who can decide a game in an instant. The players they have can decide matches even when they don’t deserve to win.
“We’ve entered a period where there are games which will be crucial at the end of the season, and this was the first one Juventus have faced. Derby games are different from other games, so it’s nice to win it.”
While Juve have won three Scudetti on the spin, they have underachieved in Europe, and Gentile believes that the Champions League must be the focus for Allegri’s side this season.
“Juventus last year were so determined, so decisive. Allegri is working well, we’ll evaluate him later.
“I think that the most important thing this season though, is the Champions League. You have to aspire to something more.
“The most important attribute you need is luck. I’ve seen teams like Chelsea winning the Champions League without deserving it.
“Sometimes in two-legged games you can go out without deserving to, or vice-versa you can go through without being the best.
“What’s important, is for Juventus to move forward in the Champions League, to make it clear that they’re not only strong in Italy.”
Finally, Gentile reserved praise for Peres’ equaliser, which saw the Brazilian full-back dribble the entire length of the pitch before slamming the ball home off the post.
“Quite aside from it being a fantastic goal, what was impressive was his speed and coolness. I think he’s a quality player.
“Now he’ll have put himself on the radar of a lot of clubs, not just Italian ones and he has to prove it wasn’t a fluke.”