Juve, Agnelli and the sentence on Atalanta: now it’s Champions League play-off

“I have great respect for what Atalanta are doing, but without international history and with a great sporting performance they had direct access to the Champions League. Right or not, then I think of Roma, which in recent years has contributed to maintaining Italy’s ranking, has had a bad season and is out. With all the economic consequences of the case. We need to protect investments and costs. “This reflection by Juve president Andrea Agnelli 13 months ago in London, at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit forum, on the subject of Champions League reform and the long-term future of football. which tolls today, against the eve of the direct clash between Atalanta and Juve, an authentic play-off for the conquest of a place in the Champions League 2021-22. And after this year both teams have been eliminated from the maximum continental competition in the round of 16, by Porto and Real Madrid.

Champions play-off

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Sunday afternoon at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, Atalanta awaits Juve at 3 pm, who have only one point ahead. This will be one of the key challenges of the mini-cycle of 8 races that will close the championship on 23 May, and which will decide the three remaining names for the Champions League. With Inter already in the Empire, Milan Juve and Atalanta are enclosed in the space of three points (respectively at an altitude of 63, 62 and 61), but with Napoli in the first place (59) and also Lazio and Rome (55 and 54) at to blow on their necks with a grim and menacing air. In short, nothing is taken for granted, and Pirlo’s team is well aware that most of the points lost this season have left them right where they would not have expected, starting with Benevento and Crotone. With Atalanta in the first leg it ended 1-1, with Freuler who equalized Chiesa’s goal in the 57th minute: for the former viola it was the first goal in the black and white jersey as well as the beginning of his Juventus rise.

looking for tris

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For Juve, the primary objective in Bergamo is to find the third consecutive success: a trio that, in the league, has only succeeded on three occasions: at the beginning of January, between the end of January and the beginning of February, in the first three matches of March. However, tradition does not smile to the bianconeri: in Bergamo they have only won one of the last four away matches. This only success, however, came precisely in the most recent precedent, with the 3-1 in November 2019, and it was Dybala who put the last seal. The Argentine is now aiming to increase his seasonal playing time: after the segments played against Naples (with a lot of goals scored) and Genoa, Joya is aiming for a starting shirt that could be approaching, given that during the week Juve is expected from three games (after Atalanta he will play with Parma on Wednesday in the midweek round and then on Sunday in the “rematch” with Fiorentina, who went 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium in the first leg). And that’s not all, however, because the other key match between Juve and Atalanta is the one scheduled for May 19 at the Mapei Stadium, where on January 20, beating Napoli 2-0, Juve won the Italian Super Cup, so far. his first trophy of the season.