Andrea Pirlo insists Juventus ‘played the match we needed to’ in their 1-0 defeat to Atalanta and he is confident they’ll have ‘no problem’ qualifying for the Champions League.
The Bianconeri dropped down to fourth place and it could be fifth tonight if Napoli manage to beat Inter at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Ruslan Malinovskyi’s deflected shot off Alex Sandro proved decisive at the 87th minute in Bergamo.
Andrea Pirlo insists Juventus ‘played the match we needed to’ in their 1-0 defeat to Atalanta and he is confident they’ll have ‘no problem’ qualifying for the Champions League.
The Bianconeri dropped down to fourth place and it could be fifth tonight if Napoli manage to beat Inter at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Ruslan Malinovskyi’s deflected shot off Alex Sandro proved decisive at the 87th minute in Bergamo.
“It was a good game against a strong team. We played the match we needed to, then they were lucky with the late goal, but we played with great determination and aggression. It’s disappointing, we could’ve brought home at least a point,” Pirlo told Sky Sport Italia.
Paulo Dybala had his first start in three months, but made very little impact at the Gewiss Stadium.
“He hadn’t started in a long time, so facing a physical side like Atalanta meant he couldn’t possibly do 90 minutes. He did well as long as his physique held up.
“Federico Chiesa and Danilo had a few problems during the week too. Some were struggling a bit, but Ronaldo was not in condition to play.”
Despite the defeat, Pirlo was impressed with the Juventus performance against Atalanta, who they will face again in the Coppa Italia Final on May 19.
“We have not faced all our games with the same attitude and determination. It’s a completely different team when we have those elements, but despite me pointing it out, we have dropped too many points by not having the right attitude in the smaller fixtures.
“We knew Atalanta would make it a duel all over the field, so that’s how we prepared it. We kept good possession, covered the spaces, Atalanta can force you to play differently to other situations, but we did well.”
This just confirms Juve have not won a Serie A match this season without Cristiano Ronaldo, managing only three draws and this defeat.
“It’s no coincidence Ronaldo scored 25 goals this season and he was excellent in the first leg with Atalanta too. He suits these games well and is our main finisher. When missing the killer instinct in the box, it’s slightly different.
“We still created our chances today, though, so I don’t think it made that much difference.”
Juve slide down to fourth place and could end up being fifth tonight if Napoli beat Inter. Does Pirlo fear missing out on Champions League qualification?
“We have to focus only on ourselves. If we play with this spirit and desire to bring home the result, I am convinced there will be no problem achieving our objective.”