04 May 2017
Monaco tie not over yet
“Scoring two away goals and keeping a clean sheet is fantastic and that’s what we managed to do thanks to the likes of Buffon, Higuain and Dani Alves. It’s important having players of that quality on your team for big matches like these.
“In the return leg, we have to score. We’re in the same situation as in the last 16 against Porto and we know very well that thinking we’ve already qualified would be the worst mistake we could make.
“We’re ready and focused, as we demonstrated against Barcelona. Another tough match awaits us, but we want to reach the final.”
Sami's year on year development
“It wasn’t easy towards the end of my time at Real Madrid. My first year with Juve was good, but not quite like this season.
“Therefore I can say that I’ve improved a lot both on the pitch, from a tactical aspect, and off the field, where I’m learning new things in a different culture.
“The combination of character, quality and creativity is a positive thing for me and that’s the case in this group of players: we’re strong tactically but also mentally. We know how to defend but also attack. We find the right solutions on the field. It’s an excellent set of skills.
“Furthermore, we work for one another, we’re perfectly on each other’s wavelength and we’re truly united.”
Max: one of the best managers
“Allegri is a really intelligent guy. He too has improved over the period of time we’ve worked together. He’s capable of keeping us focused on the next match, even after nights like last night. He always finds solutions and makes the right substitutions. He has that sense for the way games are going and also how we players are feeling out on the pitch. He’s quite simply one of the best managers around at present.
“Before changing formation, we felt like we had great players but that something was missing. Then we went for the new system with Mandzukic working so hard on the left and Higuain who enjoys greater space.
“Now we feel more assured and we know that, with the quality of our wide players, we can change players whilst maintaining our style of play.”
Entering the final straight
“For me, every victory is important, but none more so than the next ones. The fans have a dream that’s the same as ours, but we’re not dreamers and in order to reach our goals we have to dig really deep.
“Next up, we’ve the derby against Torino, which is a kind of ‘match point,’ a bit like the Atalanta game. If we win on Saturday, even with Roma playing the next day, we’d virtually be over the line and that would be one of our objectives ticked off.
“Afterwards we want to win the Coppa Italia final against Lazio – a great side that we’ve already beaten twice this season, but we’re aiming to make it three times when we meet in Rome.”
