Juventus beats Monaco 2-1 to reach Champions League final

Juventus' players Gonzalo Higuain, Dani Alves and Paulo Dybala celebrate after beating Monaco 2-1 during the Champions League Semi Final Second Leg at Juventus Stadium, Turin, Italy, May 9, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

"Playing a final is enough motivation for me," Alves said. "It doesn't change anything for me if it is against Real Madrid, it would be a great match in world football. But Real still has a match to play. It won't be Barcelona against Real Madrid, but Juventus against Real."There was one man who Alves didn't need to prove anything: Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri.

"Three months ago, some people wanted to strangle Dani Alves," Allegri said with a smile. "But when a player is good, he's good in June, September and the following June... he hasn't turned mediocre.

"Anyways, Alves is not someone we've discovered in the past three months. He's won 29 titles."Kylian Mbappe scored a consolation goal in the 69th minute for Monaco, as Juventus remained on course for the treble. Allegri's side is likely to secure an unprecedented sixth Serie A title on Sunday at Roma, while it is also in the Italian Cup final.

Two years ago, Juventus was in a similar position but it lost the final 3-1 to Barcelona. This time, it could be Juve's year, especially after it eased past the Catalan team 3-0 on aggregate in the quarterfinals.