<
>

Juventus' Max Allegri 'optimistic' after Paulo Dybala picks up knock

Juventus boss Max Allegri says he is "optimistic" that striker Paulo Dybala will be fit to face Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday after picking up an ankle injury on Saturday.

Dybala left the 2-0 win at Pescara in the 54th minute after being caught by a late tackle.

And Allegri downplayed the severity of the injury for the man who scored two of Juventus' three goals in the first leg of their quarterfinals clash earlier in the week.

"Dybala took a blow, there is a distortion," the coach told Mediaset Premium. "But, with four days to recuperate before Barcelona, you have to be optimistic."

The straightforward win over Serie A's bottom side put Juventus eight points clear of Roma with six games to play, and Allegri said he was targeting 11 more points before celebrating the title.

"We have to get to 91 points -- Roma can do 90," he said. "Now we have to think about Wednesday [against Barca].

"Compliments are nice, but it takes more balance in football. We must not get excited or depressed."

Gonzalo Higuain scored both of Juve's goals before the break, but Allegri said he would have liked to have seen more scoring in the second half.

"Juve deserved to win," he said. "In the second half, we wasted some time - we had plenty of space in front of us and we were not good at exploiting it.

"When we had possession of the ball, we had to do better."