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Andrea Pirlo warned his Juventus side they risk going the way of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich if they take SPAL lightly in Wednesday’s Coppa Italia quarter-final tie.
SPAL knocked out Sassuolo in the last round and make the trip to the Allianz Stadium sitting fifth in Serie B as they seek a swift return to the top tier of Italian football.
Record 13-time Coppa winners Juve enter the game as strong favourites to progress to the semi-finals, where the winner of Tuesday’s game between Inter and Milan would await.
However, in a month that has seen Madrid exit the Copa del Rey with defeat to third-tier Alcoyano and Bayern lose to second-tier Holstein Kiel in the DFB-Pokal, Pirlo is taking nothing for granted.
“There are a lot of possible risks because we are facing a Serie B team on paper. But if you look at the foreign cups, Bayern lost to a team from a lower division, as did Madrid,” Pirlo told Juventus TV.
“We have to assume that it will be a difficult game. We need maximum concentration because we want to go through. They are a good team that are doing well in the league and cup.
“We of course have to be careful because the main objective is to pass through to the next round.
“They are a very good team that like to play football, play with three defenders and sometimes three forwards or half-strikers. It is a difficult team to face so we will have to be at our best to avoid losing.”
Juve’s Scudetto hopes took a major dent with defeat to Inter on January 17, but they have since responded with 2-0 wins over Napoli in the Supercoppa Italiana and Bologna in the league.
Pirlo now has near enough a fully-fit squad to choose from and believes that will be reflected on the results front.
“It means we can improve because we have great players back,” he said. “I hope to finally have the whole squad available and we can then work on all the concepts, which we have not been able to do this season.”
Rodrigo Bentancur will miss the cup tie but Matthijs de Ligt and Merih Demiral will return to the starting line-up after recovering from coronavirus and injury respectively.
“Bentancur will rest for sure because on Sunday he played the whole game with a hole in his foot,” Pirlo said. “We had to put three stitches in – he made a big sacrifice and now he will need a few days of rest to absorb the bruise.
“Some players who played on Sunday will rest. De Ligt and Demiral will return and start from the beginning. Then for the rest we will have a competitive team.
Pirlo also confirmed Gianluigi Buffon will start against SPAL, with regular goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny being given a breather.
Szczesny has conceded 16 goals in 14 league matches this term for a save percentage of 68.63, which is below the 74.42 he managed last season and 75.61 in 2018-19.
He made three saves against both Napoli and Bologna to keep successive clean sheets, but Pirlo is after even more from the Poland international.
“He is giving us great confidence with his performances,” the rookie head coach said. “We are more than satisfied with the displays he is putting in on the pitch.
“We know he can still improve because he’s a world-class goalkeeper who plays for a great team. We are hoping that he can still do better.”
Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 LaLiga win at Getafe on Wednesday as Diego Simeone’s side sealed Champions League qualification.
The France star opened the scoring in the 27th minute from Rodrigo De Paul’s throughball and had his second shortly before half-time, flicking Samuel Lino’s pinpoint pass past Getafe goalkeeper David Soria.
Griezmann completed his hat-trick in the 51st minute with a fine finish under Soria’s legs, with Lino claiming his second assist by playing Los Colchoneros’ all-time leading scorer into the area.
It was Griezmann’s second hat-trick of the season, after he also netted three times in a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo last October.
With two games remaining, Simeone’s side are now on 73 points in fourth, 11 ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who lost 2-1 against Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Griezmann repeats the trick
Griezmann is the only player to score two hat-tricks in LaLiga this season, and the only player to net a treble with all three goals coming on his left foot.
He might need to go even further to put himself in Golden Boot contention, though, with his 16 goals for this term putting him behind Artem Dovbyk (20), Jude Bellingham, Alexander Sorloth (both 19) and Robert Lewandowski (17).
Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United must “finish the season in the best way” following their 3-2 win over Newcastle United.
The United youngsters played starring roles, with Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hojlund getting all three goals to close the gap to Newcastle in the table.
Anthony Gordon and Lewis Hall both netted for the Magpies, with the latter setting up a nervy finish with his stoppage-time effort, but their lack of clinical edge meant United earned all three points.
Erik ten Hag’s side avoided a third consecutive defeat, and what would have been a record-breaking 10th home loss of the season, and Fernandes insists they must find a way to finish positively.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the United captain said: “Obviously the job isn’t finished yet. We still have one game in the Premier League, then the biggest game of the season, the FA Cup final.
“It has been a tough season. The table shows that, and we are all aware of that. The fans have been amazing and behind us all season. We all appreciate what they have been doing for us.
“We want to do better and do differently. They [fans] have been amazing for us, and we had to do something. We have been trying, but results don’t show that. We have been working hard and everyone has been giving their best. It is not enough, and we have to do more.
“We still have two games to go, and we have to finish in the best way.
“It doesn’t exist, a captain’s performance, it is a team performance. I am no different from anyone just because I have the armband. I always try my best, and we always do the best we can for the club – nobody hides that we play for a big club, and we have to lift our standards every game.”
Despite returning to winning ways, United have now conceded 58 Premier League goals this season, their most across a single campaign in the competition.
Ten Hag was keen to turn the focus away from their struggling defence and onto the attacking players instead.
“Fantastic. Great goals. But it was a team effort how we made the goals. But I’m always happy at young players who are progressing very good and scored some brilliant goals,” he told BBC Sport.
“Newcastle have a lot of physical power, and you have to match that, but you also have to play football. We had found the really good balance in this.
“It’s always nice to win any game. It’s important to win the last game at Old Trafford this season. The fans deserve this because they’ve had difficult times and always stayed with us.
“We are here together. We wanted to pay the fans back.”
Reigning Jamaica Premier League champions Mount Pleasant FA and Cavalier FC have booked spots in this year’s Concacaf Caribbean Cup where they will again challenge for a berth in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
By virtue of setting up a repeat of last year’s final, Mount Pleasant, hunting their second local top-flight title, and Cavalier, seeking redemption from last season’s defeat, joined three other clubs from Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago as early confirmations.
This will be Mount Pleasant’s debut in the Caribbean Cup and first appearance in a Concacaf tournament, while Cavalier makes a return after an unbeaten run in the group stage, before finishing as runner-up to Suriname’s Robinhood FC. It also and earned them a debut appearance in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
From Dominican Republic, Cibao FC, will make its second appearance in the Caribbean Cup as the 2023 league champion from the Dominican Republic. Cibao has become a regular to Concacaf competitions, appearing in the 2018 Champions League and the 2020 and 2022 Concacaf League.
Based in Santiago de los Caballeros, Cibao became the first team in the history of the Dominican Republic to secure an official international title when they won the 2017 Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship.
Meanwhile, Moca FC, also out of Dominican Republic, returns for a second crack at the Caribbean Cup due to their standing in the 2023 season. Moca reached the semifinals in the previous edition and won the third-place match to qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, making its debut earlier this year. Gustavo Ascona is the club’s all-time leader with four goals in the competition.
Trinidad and Tobago’s AC Port of Spain will make a second appearance in the Caribbean Cup. The club will be aiming to achieved new milestones by getting their first win in the tournament and, by extension, secure a first Concacaf Champions Cup participation.
The remaining clubs in the annual 10-team tournament –that crowns a Caribbean champion and determine participants from the region for the Concacaf Champions Cup –will be determined as their respective nations wrap up their domestic seasons.
A draw will be held on June 6 to divide the teams into two groups of five.
May 13, 2024 LaLiga
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