Massimiliano Allegri has called on the Bianconeri to put the disappointment of Wednesday night’s Champions League exit in Munich firmly behind them and come out fighting when they line up against inter-city rivals Torino in tomorrow’s 142nd top-flight Derby Della Mole clash.
Here is a selection of his thoughts from today’s pre-match press conference:
Battling back
“We’ve had a look over Wednesday night because we need to improve on the errors made in every game we play, be it a last 16 Champions League match against Bayern or a normal Serie A encounter. There are no regrets, now it’s important for us to take the blows and come back fighting.”
Treatment table
“Chiellini will miss out, as it would be daft to risk him with a break just around the corner. Rugani is fit and ready to play, Evra did well as a central defender on Wednesday and Barzagli and Bonucci are in good shape. We’ll go with three in defence tomorrow. Marchisio will also miss out but Dybala is back.”
Torino
“It’s the game of the season for Torino, because a win tomorrow would save their entire campaign. It’s also a derby, meaning we’ll need to be ready from a psychological point of view and approach the game right. It will be a physical affair, so we’ll need to be controlled.”
Targets
“We’re in the hunt for the Scudetto, we have a place in the Coppa Italia final and we’ve won the Super Cup. Perhaps if we had a bit more of the rub of the green we would have reached the Champions League quarter-finals, but we mustn’t allow Wednesday’s game to derail us in our chase for the title. It’s important we keep taking each game at a time, starting with tomorrow’s against Torino.”