Massimiliano Allegri has urged his Juventus side to shift their focus away from the top of the Serie A table as they prepare to travel to bottom club Salernitana on Sunday.
Inter Milan’s win over Verona on Saturday saw them stretch their lead back to five points, but Allegri is in no doubt where his priorities lie for the rest of the campaign.
Allegri told a press conference: “First of all it is fundamental to maintain the gap to fifth in the standings. Our first objective must be to qualify for the next Champions League.”
Juventus head into the game unbeaten in 13 Serie A games and will start as strong favourites against a side whom they swept aside 6-1 last Thursday in the Coppa Italia.
Allegri confirmed that Hans Nicolussi Caviglia will feature for the trip to Salerno, but Andrea Cambiaso is ruled out with a fever, and the game has come too early for Moise Kean who is yet to return to full training.
Despite Thursday’s cup mauling, the hosts will head into the game in good heart having snapped a run of six games without a win with a priceless 1-0 victory at Verona last week.
Allegri is adamant his side must rely on their team spirit to see them through a game with potentially more problems than the recent statistics suggest.
“Playing in Salerno is never easy and we will find it difficult because they want to cancel out the result of Thursday’s match,” said Allegri.
“We must continue to work as we are doing, without getting excited and without ever letting our guard down.
“The match the other evening shouldn’t make us get excited, but push us to continue working well because it’s important to think about one match at a time, without projecting ourselves too far ahead.
“Right now the thing that matters most is the group. We have to put the ego aside and put the group at the centre, because this group is doing something splendid.”
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Juventus sack head coach Allegri for behaviour at Coppa Italia final
Juventus have relieved head coach Massimiliano Allegri of his duties with immediate effect, citing his behaviour during Wednesday's Coppa Italia final win as a factor in their decision.
Allegri led Juve to a 1-0 win over Atalanta in Wednesday's domestic cup final at the Stadio Olimpico, the Bianconeri's first major trophy since they won the same competition in 2021.
They have now won the Coppa six times in the last decade, while Allegri's five titles make him the most successful coach in the competition's history outright.
However, cup glory was not enough to save Allegri's job after a staggering collapse in the second half of Juve's 2023-24 Serie A campaign.
Juve were neck-and-neck with Inter at the summit at the turn of the year, but they are not even assured of a top-four finish with two games remaining following a run of five straight draws.
They are guaranteed Champions League football for 2023-24 due to Italian clubs' performances in Europe this term, but Allegri will not lead them on their return to Europe's elite club competition.
In a statement, the 36-time Italian champions said Allegri's animated behaviour during and after Wednesday's final contributed to his dismissal.
The club said: "Juventus announces that it has relieved Massimiliano Allegri of his duties as coach of the men's first team.
"The dismissal follows certain behaviours during and after the Coppa Italia final that the club deemed incompatible with the values of Juventus and with the behaviour that must be held by those who represent it.
"A period of collaboration which began in 2014 and restarted in 2021 for three more seasons together comes to an end.
"The club wishes Massimiliano Allegri the best of luck in his future projects."
Thiago Motta – who has led Bologna to Champions League qualification – has been strongly linked with the role, with Allegri's position being questioned throughout the last few months.
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