Juventus reached the Europa League quarterfinals with a 1-1 draw at Sporting CP, but Massimiliano Allegri urged the Bianconeri to show more aggression.
Federico Gatti’s goal handed Juventus a victory in the rematch last week at the Allianz Stadium, giving them a slim 1-0 lead going into the second leg at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
An early Adrien Rabiot goal doubled Juve’s lead in the match, and even though Marcus Edwards pulled one back for Sporting, the visitors held on to advance to a semifinal matchup with Sevilla after learning prior to Thursday’s game that their 15-point deduction in Serie A for financial breaches had been suspended.
Despite earning a last-four spot in Europe for the first time since 2017, Allegri warned his players they must be more clinical in future after spurning a number of chances to kill the tie off in the second half.
“It was a good day, as we headed to the semi-finals,” the Juve coach told Sky Sport Italia. “We suffered, we did good things in the second half at the beginning.
“But we have to do better when it comes to our chances. We rushed the play in the box and more patience would have been needed. We shot little from outside the box and we must improve.
“We knew it would be difficult, but we are bringing home a good result.”
Standing between Allegri’s men and the final in Budapest on May 31 is Sevilla, whose six Europa League six titles are double any other team’s trophy haul in the competition.
Sevilla beat Manchester United 5-2 on aggregate to seal their semi-final place but Allegri says he had predicted such a result.
“I expected Sevilla to be honest,” he said of his next European opponents. “They are a tricky team, they play well and are good with the ball.
“They have won so many Europa Leagues, so they definitely have an advantage. The signs from the last game [in Manchester] were in their favour, I had that feeling.”
Rabiot’s close-range strike after nine minutes in Portugal gave Juve a crucial two-goal lead and capped a strong performance in midfield, one that saw him lead the Bianconeri in passes in the final third (15) and contribute defensively with three clearances and an interception.
Despite his impressive display, Allegri still believes Rabiot has parts of his game to work on, saying: “He has the qualities but he can still improve.
“Sometimes he gets close to the area and doesn’t shoot. He has to improve but he has become important, extraordinary.”