Pjanic pleased as Juventus heed Allegri's advice to beat Porto

22 February 2017 23:24

Miralem Pjanic revealed Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri urged his players to stay calm as they eventually broke down Porto's 10 men to take control of their Champions League last-16 tie.

The Serie A champions take a 2-0 lead back to Turin for the second leg after second-half goals from substitutes Marko Pjaca and Dani Alves following Alex Telles' 27th-minute dismissal.

Porto looked to strangle the game after the hosts saw Telles booked twice in just 74 seconds, the second for a foul on Stephan Lichtsteiner.

But the visitors finally wore them down and Pjanic said it was Allegri's words which helped the Juve players keep their heads in an attempt to find a breakthrough.

"We could have done better in the first half but Porto defended well," he told uefa.com after the game.

"They are used to playing at this level. We hit twice in quick succession when they got tired, exactly as Allegri told us to do. He kept telling us to stay calm and serene and wait for the right moment because it would certainly arrive."

The visitors came close to taking the lead on the stroke of half-time as Paulo Dybala's long-range drive rattled the post.

Porto were frustrating the visitors after the interval as they battled resolutely despite being a man down.

With Juventus knocking on the door but unable to take the lead, Allegri looked to his bench with impressive results.

Pjaca replaced Cuadrado on 67 minutes and had the Italians ahead less than five minutes later, finishing well for his first Juve goal after Dybala's pass was deflected perfectly into his path.

Alves needed even less time to double the advantage as he came on for Lichtsteiner and struck just over 60 seconds after his introduction, controlling Alex Sandro's cross before rifling home to give them what Pjanic considered to be a well-earned win.

"I think our victory was fully deserved," he added.

"We played well against serious opponents who only tried to defend when they went down to 10 men. It was not easy to find spaces."

Porto coach Nuno Espirito Santo pointed to the sending off as the turning point in the contest, with his side now facing an uphill battle to reach the quarter-finals.

"The expulsion was crucial because everything became much more difficult," he told the club's official website.

"If it was difficult with 11 men, with 10 it was much more so, but the team gave everything and that was the most important thing and the team was able to withstand the opponents' attacks until the 72nd minute.

"Now we have to go to Turin to compete, the tie is very, very difficult, but it is not finished."

Source: PA