Maurzio Sarri revealed that he spoke at length in private with Cristiano Ronaldo and that the Portuguese winger prefers to play wide, rather than in the centre for Juventus.

The Bianconeri are under pressure following two dismal performances against Milan and Napoli in the Coppa Italia with Sarri coming in for criticism for his choices.

“Losing a trophy is always painful, but we mustn’t beat ourselves up,” Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.

“I asked the players not to let themselves get distracted by anything or think of what might’ve been, because what’s done is done. It was inevitably going to be difficult after being away for 70 days, losing sharpness, fitness and acceleration. Nothing in this situation is normal and there were no precedents, we didn’t even have friendlies.

“The lack of goals could well be an issue of general sharpness, as we keep the ball for long periods and control the game, but can’t finish our chances. Considering the quality in the squad, I cannot imagine we’ll struggle in front of goal for long.

“I talked to Ronaldo before the Coppa Italia games with Milan and Napoli, and again yesterday. He scored 700 goals by starting slightly wide of centre, that’s his preference and that is normal.

“I called the three lads to me and talked to them about what we ought to do in the Final. Analysing it with them, we decided to try with Paulo Dybala in a more central position.

“I spoke with Ronaldo for a long time yesterday and I hope that from tomorrow, at most in a week, he’ll get back to being the usual fantastic player we know. It’s just that he’s not physically at his best right now.

“We’ve got solutions on the wings like Federico Bernardeschi or moving Juan Cuadrado, but fitness levels are going to be more important than anything else in my choices right now.

“There are dangers in every match, especially as we begin the restart. Bologna were playing good football this season, dangerous on the counter-attack, so we’ll be on our toes.

“I am really curious to see the first three to four games, as there are big risks for all concerned and we could see some surprising situations.”