A resurgent Roma are firmly back in the Serie A title race, Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has warned.
A resurgent Roma are firmly back in the Serie A title race, Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has warned.
Luciano
Spalletti's side recorded an emphatic 4-1 victory over Fiorentina on
Friday to move back to within five points of the champions at the top of
the table and extend their run to seven league wins in a row since
their loss in Turin in January.
Allegri is not
surprised by Roma's impressive form since Rudi Garcia was replaced as
head coach and believes their 1-0 victory over the capital club could
prove crucial as the season enters the closing stages.
"It's
not surprising at all because Roma are a high-quality team and are
still one of the candidates to win the Scudetto," he said on Friday.
"The win we had against Roma was crucial, as it allows us to be five points clear of them with a game in hand.
"It
won't be easy and we must either maintain this three-point gap or even
increase it over the upcoming mini-tournament of 11 rounds.
"All we have to focus on right now is winning, as that will guarantee we are at least three points clear of Napoli."
Juve
reached the Coppa Italia final after a penalty shoot-out win over
Inter, who recorded a shock 3-0 victory to take the tie into extra-time
and spot-kicks, but Allegri feels the result could prove an important
wake-up call.
"Let's say Wednesday's defeat was
healthy from a mental point of view, because we reached 21 games without
losing and it was a painless loss because we achieved the goal of
reaching the final," he said.
"The game tomorrow
will be very different. It will be very difficult because Atalanta are a
team who do well in home matches, so we have to be good. But we go
there with one aim - to win."
Allegri confirmed
that Claudio Marchisio is available for Sunday's clash but does not
expect Giorgio Chiellini - who limped out of the Coppa clash this week
- to return to action before the second leg of the Champions League
last-16 tie with Bayern Munich.
"Marchisio is
okay, he's ready to play. [Stefano] Sturaro has a problem with his toe,
so it's impossible to take him. The others are all available," he added.
"Chiellini is making progress, we'll see if he'll be ready in a week. For Sassuolo it'll be very difficult."
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