Scoring more goals and shoring up the defence will be key if Juventus are to avoid another Uefa Champions League quarter-final exit after cruising past Porto, said manager Massimiliano Allegri.
Beaten 2015 finalists Juventus put one foot into the last eight of Europe’s premier club competition last month with a 2-0 win away to 10-man Porto.
And the Turin giants were impervious on Tuesday on their way to stretching their unbeaten run in European competition to 21 games despite failing to build on their numerical superiority after Porto, as they did in the first leg, lost a man before the half-time interval.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s visitors failed to pose a real threat, and any hope of an upset was ended on 40 minutes when Paulo Dybala drilled past Iker Casillas from the penalty spot after Maxi Pereira’s expulsion for handball.
Juventus cruised through 3-0 on aggregate, but Allegri was less than satisfied after the hosts failed to make their advantage pay in a listless second half that saw Gonzalo Higuain and Mark Pjaca fire wide of the target.
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“In the Champions League we are scoring less goals on average than other sides with respect to the number of chances we create,” the 49-year-old Italian said.
“In defence, we also have to improve. In the second half, despite our numerical advantage, we did the opposite of what we did in Porto.
“In these situations you either up the rhythm and pressure and attack, or you sit back and pass the ball around till it gets boring for everybody.
“We didn’t do either. We were very good in the first half, but less so in the second. Thankfully, we had our last eight ticket practically assured, but we’ll have to work on this for the future.”
Although Juventus remain on course for a third consecutive league and Cup double, their real focus this season is on making amends for a 3-1 final defeat to Barcelona in 2015.
And with Barcelona, 11-time champions Real Madrid and Bayern Munich all possible opponents following Friday’s quarter-final draw, Allegri has reason for concern.
Juventus beat Madrid on aggregate in the last four to reach the 2015 final, although the Spanish giants recently showed their class with a 6-2 aggregate win over Napoli.
Allegri’s men have fared less well against Barcelona and Bayern Munich. The Germans were the last team to beat Juventus at home in European competition, ending their campaign in 2013 when Juve were under the helm of current Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.
Allegri has already surpassed Conte’s feats with the Italian champions in Europe, but he says improving on the pitch might not be enough.
“We have to be very good over our next two games if we’re to make it all the way to the final. Although a little bit of luck would help as well,” he said.
When asked his preference, Dybala was unequivocal, although the Argentine starlet was looking further ahead to the final.
“With the squad we have, and for how well we’re doing in all three competitions, how can we not think about winning the Champions League?” said Dybala, who began his career in Italy with Serie A strugglers Palermo.
“For the final, I’d like to replay the one from two years ago, even though I wasn’t there.”
As Nuno looks ahead to an improved campaign with Porto next time around, the Portuguese manager gave Allegri, and Juventus, his backing.
“Allegri has done a great job, Juventus are one of the best sides in Europe,” he said. “For me they’re among the top four or five.”
* Agence France-Presse
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
