Juve set sights on scudetto
alghero — Cool-headed midfielder Sami Khedira has called for focus as treble-chasing Juventus seek to wrap up a record Serie A title with a derby win over Torino.
A Juventus win on Saturday, coupled with a Roma defeat at Europa League-chasing AC Milan on Sunday, would take the champions’ lead over the capital side to 12 points with three games to play.
But securing a record sixth consecutive scudetto, says Khedira, is just one step on a road that he hopes will see Juventus claim an unprecedented club treble, seven years after Jose Mourinho achieved the feat with Inter Milan, in 2010.
The 32-times Italian champions face Lazio in the Italian Cup final next month and, after a 2-0 win over Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal, look to have one foot in the Cardiff final.
Germany midfielder Khedira, who sat Wednesday’s win due to suspension, insisted there is still plenty of work to do.
“The fans have a dream, which is
We are not dreamers, and if we want to go all the way we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us Sami Khedira
the same as ours,” Khedira said on Thursday. “But we are not dreamers, and if we want to go all the way we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us.
“The derby is a kind of matchpoint for us. If we win at home, even though Roma still have to play the next day, we will be closer to one of our objectives.
“Then we want to win the Italian Cup against Lazio, a great side that we’ve already beaten twice (this season) and who we want to beat again.” After seeing Gonzalo Higuain hit a brace at the Stade Louis II, coach Massimiliano Allegri is set to make several changes for the visit of Torino. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who made a string of fine saves to thwart the French league leaders, could make way for number two Norberto Neto, with Allegri also likely to tinker with his four-man defence. “We’ll be ready for the derby on Saturday,” Allegri said after Wednesday’s win. “I have a squad that permits me to make a few changes.”
Yet the 49-year-old coach is unlikely to change a potent attacking line featuring Higuain, Mario Mandzukic, Juan Cuadrado and Paulo Dybala.
Torino coach Sinisa Mihajlovic was in attendance to see Juventus triumph in Monaco, and Allegri added: “I don’t know what he thought. The derby is an important fixture, but it’s more important to us because it gives us the chances to edge even closer to the scudetto.”
Although the odds are stacked in favour of Juventus, who have beaten Torino three times in succession since a rare defeat at the end of the 2015 season, Torino fans can realistically dream of an upset.—