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Juventus recently beat Sassuolo 3-1 in Serie A to keep their hopes of finishing in the top four alive. The game was particularly monumental for Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala as they both scored their 100th goals for the Bianconeri.
Andrea Pirlo's men are one point off the top four and will need either Napoli, AC Milan or Atalanta to drop points in order to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Juventus will face Serie A champions Inter Milan this weekend in what will be a season-defining clash for the Turin giants.
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On that note, here are the latest Juventus news on 12th May, 2021.
Andrea Pirlo breaks down Juventus' strategy against Sassuolo
While addressing the media following Juventus' 3-1 win against Sassuolo, Andrea Pirlo was asked about his approach to the game and the changes he made to the squad after their 3-0 defeat to AC Milan last week.
The Italian manager explained:
"It wasn’t easy to get back on track after that defeat and especially against Sassuolo. We prepared it so we’d sit back, wait for Sassuolo with some very tight lines to stop them finding those spaces, then the plan was to win it back and go rapidly on the counter. Sassuolo push so many men forward, they leave gaps at the back."
He continued:
“I used two very quick wing-backs like Federico Chiesa and Dejan Kulusevski to attack the space and we did it well. Champions in football are the ones who make the difference, and we have many of them, so tonight they made a big impact. It wasn’t easy for us to lift our heads up, but we did, we are here, we are alive and kicking and will fight to the end."
Andrea Pirlo reflects on disappointing season
Andrea Pirlo was also asked about his club's disappointing season and their chances of qualifying for the Champions League this season.
The 41-year-old seemed in a reflective mood, explaining that most of his team's shortcomings this season were their own fault. He said:
"We are aware that our destiny is no longer in our hands, but there’s no point looking back over regrets now. There were many moments during the season when we lowered our guard and weren’t 100 per cent concentrated, perhaps thinking that just wearing the Juve jersey was enough to guarantee a victory. Unfortunately, that is not the case."
He continued:
“In modern football, you have to face every team with the same mentality, hunger and desire, because otherwise you won’t get far. We’ve got to get it into our heads that we must suffer, have discipline and cohesion between all the players. The rest will follow. Too often we have made mistakes and made life difficult for ourselves with individual errors, so we need the utmost concentration in every minute and every second. On the penalty today, we gave it away so cheaply in the final third and it’s not the first time we’ve done that."
Barcelona interested in Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon, who recently announced that he will be leaving Juventus at the end of the season, has reportedly become the subject of interest for Barcelona, with the Catalan club looking to sign the Italian legend this summer.
According to Football Italia, Barcelona see Buffon as the perfect back-up to Marc-Andre ter Stegen and are ready to offer him a contract in the summer.
The report states that the Catalan club want to part ways with Brazilian goalkeeper Neto in order to reduce their wage bill. They see the Juventus man as a cheaper backup option.
