Allegri: Juventus' draw with Atalanta the perfect preparation for Monaco tie

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri is confident that his side will take the lessons learned from the dramatic 2-2 draw against Atalanta into their Champions League clash against Monaco.

 

Leonardo Jardim's Ligue 1 high-flyers host Serie A leaders Juve in the first-leg of their semi-final on Wednesday.

 

And Allegri, whose side sit nine points clear of second-placed Roma after Remo Freuler capitalised on Gianluigi Buffon's error to snatch a late equaliser at Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, believes Friday's encounter has provided the perfect warm-up for Juve's trip to the principality club.

 

"This match, we need to understand, will be similar to the game against Monaco," Allegri told Mediaset Premium.

 

"They are a team that plays very similarly to Atalanta. We knew that playing here would not be easy.

 

"A match like this happens, even the players are human. The important thing is to learn from these matches and always remain calm. It prepares us well for the game against Monaco."

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Juve, who fell behind to Andrea Conti's goal on the stroke of half-time, looked set to snatch all three points when Dani Alves' 83rd-minute header capped a rejuvenated second-half display, in which a Leonardo Spinazzola own goal had drawn the visitors level.

As well as finding Atalanta goalkeeper Etrit Berisha on top form, Juve were also denied what looked a blatant penalty midway through the second half for handball against Rafael Toloi.

But Allegri was not looking for excuses after he saw his side clumsily throw away their advantage late on.

"The handball by Toloi? I do not want to talk about the incident because it makes no difference," Allegri continued.

"We were in the lead with a minute left and we could not win. The [penalty] incident would be irrelevant if we had played better. 

"Usually, Juventus do not concede in this way. For now we have gained a point on Roma, but we'll have more wins. We are at 84 points and we can get to 96.

"If we had won, we would have given a major blow to Roma. But Atalanta won all the conflicts and in football if you do not win the conflicts, you do not win."

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