Andrea Pirlo is criticized after the defeat with Porto. He admits that there are some problems at Juventus.
Andrea Pirlo’s team played colorless and unimaginable football against Porto and deservedly lost. Moreover: they should be thankful of their luck that the difference is only one ball – 1: 2. The Italian specialist talked about the problems after the game. He also said that Alvaro Morata was ill and lost consciousness after the game.
“Fatigue is normal after so many games. It is not easy to maintain the same pace and concentration. But when you play in the Champions League quarter-finals, it should not happen. Fortunately, we are stuck in the fight for the return leg with Chiesa,” Pirlo said.
Juve’s coach also explained why Kulusevski was in the starting line-up: “Morata is not well. He has not been in good shape for several days since he had the flu. However, he still got involved in the game because it became necessary. After the game, he lost consciousness.”
Recall that the return match between Juventus and Porto will be held on March 9. Andrea Pirlo’s team is in bad shape. They have lost the last two matches but have not won in the last three matches. It is noteworthy that the Turin club did not win the first match in the eighth-finals of the Champions League for four seasons in a row (2: 2 with Tottenham Hotspur, 0: 2 with Atletico Madrid, 0: 1 with Lyon, 1: 2 with Porto). Juve won the last game of this stage in February 2017 against Porto (2: 0).
With the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo, Federico Chiesa became the first Juventus player to score in the Champions League play-offs since April 2018 (then Blaise Matuidi scored for Real Madrid). Since that day, Juve have scored 7 goals in the play-offs, and all seven Portuguese superstars have scored