Juventus’ assistant coach Angelo Alessio has done a good job as fill in head coach for Antonio Conte, securing the Bianconeri the top spot of their Champions League group, and moving them forward into the next round after their win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The win over the Ukrainian team knocked defending Champions League winners Chelsea out of the competition, which marks the first time such a team have been eliminated in this early a stage.
Alessio felt the feat was “very satisfying” and gave much praise to his team, and also to Conte.
“It’s very satisfying that we have achieved this mission, as winning here and finishing top was exceptional. We have to thank the squad, as despite Antonio’s absence from the touchline they were entirely at our disposal,” he said.
“We have been growing throughout the competition, culminating in the great performance against Chelsea and tonight’s victory.
“We knew all about Shakhtar and that they are based mainly on individual talents, though they caused us some problems on the counter-attack. Once you block their creative centres, they are not very organised, so we were able to neutralise them.
“It was difficult to do without Antonio, but the team knows what it has to do and how it must move, so they helped the situation immensely. We had to call a few players today who weren’t keeping their positions,” Alessio went on.
“I know what Antonio has been through over the last few months. I want to thank the staff who worked so hard to achieve this fundamental objective of qualification.”
Although not able to be on the sidelines, Antonio Conte was in the stands to witness his team come out on top and advance further in the competition.
