Soccer: Juve jubilant as Euro mission accomplished

(ANSA) - Rome, November 26 - Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri used English on Thursday to express his delight at his side qualifying for the Champions League last 16 with a game to spare thanks to Wednesday's 1-0 win over Manchester City in Turin.
    "Mission: accomplished!" Allegri posted on his Twitter account after a goal by Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic put the Italian champions top of Group D with 11 points from five games.
    "How do JU feel about it?", he added before thanking the club, team and fans for a "magnificent evening" on Wednesday. Juve, who completed the domestic double last season and reached the final of the Champions League, are seeking to recover from an awful start to their Serie A campaign that has seen them suffer four defeats already this term.
    They are hoping to build on a run of three consecutive Serie A wins, which have lifted them to sixth in Serie A, nine points behind leaders Inter Milan, and gradually haul themselves back into the title race. "It was a perfect evening and it boosts our morale," said Juve midfielder Stefano Sturaro.
    "You breathe in an air of happiness after a match like that. "It wasn't easy. The other teams in our group were good.
    But we showed we could ride out the difficult moments and we qualified thanks to our quality.
    "On Sunday we'll go to Palermo to win," he added referring to Juve's next league game.
    "We want to give an aggressive display from the beginning to bring home the result".
    The mood at Italy's other Champions League contender, AS Roma, is very different after Tuesday's 6-1 drubbing at Barcelona.
    AS Roma Chairman James Pallotta on Wednesday told executives he was upset by the Giallorossi's capitulation at the Camp Nou, sources close to the club told ANSA. Coach Rudi Garcia, who was also in charge when Roma lost 7-1 to Bayern Munich last year, has not been given an ultimatum, but is under closer scrutiny, they said.
    AS Roma, who are fourth in Serie A, three points behind Inter, are still well positioned to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League despite the spanking at Barcelona.
    The Giallorossi just need a win against BATE Borisov at the Olimpico in two weeks' time to be sure of moving ahead to the knock-out stage.