Marcello Lippi doesn’t feel Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is off form “it’s all the rest of the team”.
The Coach’s former side, Juventus, take on the Blaugrana at Camp Nou tonight with a 3-0 lead from the first leg, and the former Italy CT discussed the match with Premium Sport.
“In the first leg, seven days ago, I got the impression of a very strong and intelligent Juventus,” Lippi said.
Marcello Lippi doesn’t feel Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is off form “it’s all the rest of the team”.
The Coach’s former side, Juventus, take on the Blaugrana at Camp Nou tonight with a 3-0 lead from the first leg, and the former Italy CT discussed the match with Premium Sport.
“In the first leg, seven days ago, I got the impression of a very strong and intelligent Juventus,” Lippi said.
“Barcelona have attacking qualities which no-one else in the world has, but only that and Juventus have other things. The Bianconeri have the best defence in Europe and they know how to manage games.
“They’ll try to play like they did in Turin, I’m sure they’ll suffer at times but I’m convinced they’ll have chances and [Gonzalo] Higuain and [Paulo] Dybala won’t get it wrong.
“Has Messi declined? Every time I see Barcelona’s results, I see goals and assists from Messi. I don’t think he has declined, it’s the rest of Barcelona.
“The drop-off is more in terms of the defence and that affects the whole team.”
Lippi was the last Coach to win the Champions League with Juve, and current boss Max Allegri has been compared to him.
“He went to Juve at the same age, he’s Tuscan like me, and he won the Scudetto in his first season.
“I liked to change formation often too, he and I have much more in common than with [Maurizio] Sarri.
“The initial doubts about him were only due to his past at Milan, the same with [Carlo] Ancelotti who I think is the best Coach in the world. The past is the past.”