Allegri: Sooner or later we have to face them all

Juventus beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 at home to record their first Champions League win in the Juventus Stadium this season, and in the process seal top spot in Group H. After the game, manager Massimiliano Allegri spoke about the heavily-modified squad he had to play with.

“I changed the system because we needed an extra man in the middle of the park, as we were a little slow.

“The second half was a little better and Dinamo opened up after the first goal, then dropped off physically and it became easier for us.

“This season we hadn’t yet won a Champions League game on home turf, so this result is certainly positive.

“Using Miralem Pjanic as a trequartista is an option that we can use during a game as well as from the start. He did well there on Sunday, less so today because there were fewer spaces, but he still had some good moves.

“Juan Cuadrado struggled tonight. The diamond midfield allows us to have more players in the middle, but the first half system was also one that allowed us to win 12 games in Serie A. It’s all about giving the opponent few reference points.”

As group winners, Juventus will now face one of Paris St. Germain, Benfica, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid or FC Porto with the draw at 12 pm CET (6 am EST, 3 am PST) on Monday 12 December.

Allegri was bullish about the Bianconeri’s next opponents.

“It all depends on the ball that gets pulled out from the pot. In any case, sooner or later we’re going to have to face them all.”

When asked if he would be bolstering his midfield in the upcoming January transfer window, the manager replied -

“We are not lacking anything and should make the most of our players. We just need to improve in terms of our team football and organisation.”