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Andrea Pirlo not worried about the sack after Juventus' Champions League exit

Andrea Pirlo's Juventus were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after a 4-4 aggregate result against Porto
Andrea Pirlo's Juventus were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after a 4-4 aggregate result against Porto

Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo has revealed he is not concerned about being sacked despite his side's Champions League Round of 16 exit.

Juventus headed into their match against Porto on Tuesday night on the back of a 2-1 loss in the first leg. In Turin, Juventus struggled to break down Porto's defense again but ran out 2-1 winners after 90 minutes thanks to Federico Chiesa's brace.

With the aggregate scoreline level, the two sides headed into extra time, during which Juventus failed to convert several opportunities. A poor attempt to save Sergio Oliviera's shot from Wojciech Szczesny handed Porto the lead on aggregate deep into extra time.

A late header from Adrien Rabiot tied the aggregate scoreline and gave Juventus hope. Still, it was not enough for the Bianconeri to progress as Porto were ahead on away goals.

Andrea Pirlo was left to rue his side's missed chances and believes they did not deserve to progress because of the number of mistakes they made over the two legs.

"When you make four big errors over two legs in the Champions League Round of 16, you can get eliminated. We didn't get it wrong when Porto were down to 10, as all we could do was try to spread them out by moving the ball side to side and packing the penalty area with bodies. That is how the goals arrived."

Pirlo, however, believes that he and his players will learn from their experiences this season. The Italian has chosen to remain positive and is not concerned about being sacked anytime in the near future, despite his side's poor campaign.

"There are games and games, these things happen in the life of a coach. It's the first for me, it's bad, but we have to roll our sleeves up, knowing it's only March and we have young players who are growing with every match and put the effort in. I don't think we can complain to the players or ask for more, as they gave their all today and it can happen that some players have an off night."

Juventus are still in contention for two trophies

Juventus v FC Porto - UEFA Champions League Round Of 16 Leg Two
Juventus v FC Porto - UEFA Champions League Round Of 16 Leg Two

Juventus' elimination from the Champions League has left them in the running for just one competition this season. The Old Lady will face Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final on May 19.

Juventus are currently third in Serie A, 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan with a game in hand over Antonio Conte's men. Andrea Pirlo's side will believe they are still in the title race, as they have 13 games to close the gap.

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