"This is like a final": Andrea Pirlo reveals Juventus will go all out against Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg
Ahead of the Coppa Italia semi-final second leg, Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo has revealed his team will go all out to grab the win when they welcome Inter Milan to the Allianz Stadium on Tuesday to seal their place in the final.
Juventus battled to a narrow 2-1 victory against Inter Milan at the San Siro in the first leg thanks to a first-half brace from star man Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan come to the Allianz Stadium looking to overturn this deficit, Juventus will be aiming to secure their second-straight Coppa Italia finals appearance.
Speaking to Juventus TV, Pirlo said:
"We must play like the Juve we’ve seen in the last few games.
"It’s the second round of a great tie that will give us the chance to reach the final. It’s an objective that we must achieve at all costs.
"It will be a difficult match, a battle. But we’re ready for it."
The Italian champions go into the game in excellent form as they are on the back of a six-game winning run across all competitions.
Pirlo added that he expects his side to put this first-leg victory behind them and go all out for the win against Inter Milan later tonight.
"We will need to go out there with the attitude of being equals," Pirlo said.
"We're starting from 0-0, we can’t still be thinking about the first leg victory. This is like a final so we must have the attitude of an aggressive team that knows what it wants.
"We need to be focused; the objective is too important to let it get away."
Juventus have found their feet after a shaky start to the season
After a shaky start to life at the Allianz Stadium under the reign of Andrea Pirlo, Juventus appear to have now found their mojo.
They have surged from mid-table in Serie A and are currently seated third after an excellent run of games.
Juventus, who have a game in hand, are currently five and seven points behind Inter Milan and league leaders AC Milan, respectively.
Pirlo also guided the Bianconeri to their first trophy this season after goals from Alvaro Morata and Cristiano Ronaldo handed them a 2-0 victory over bitter rivals Napoli in the Supercoppa final.
Juventus have now set their sights on clinching the Coppa Italia trophy this season after suffering a humiliating 4-2 defeat to Napoli in the final last year.
They will first have to overcome a ruthless Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan side, who will aim to mount a comeback and shatter the Old Lady’s trophy challenge.