Allegri hails Juventus patience and jokes it was ‘not Kean’s night’

Max Allegri jokes about Moise Kean’s extraordinary bad luck against Verona, praises the development of young players and reiterates Juventus are aiming for fourth place despite going top of the table.

It was starting to look as if the Old Lady was cursed this evening after Kean saw two goals disallowed, one for millimetres offside, the other for lashing out an arm on Marco Davide Faraoni in the build-up.

Arkadiusz Milik’s header at the 97^th minute bounced off the inside of the upright, but finally Andrea Cambiaso managed to bundle the rebound over the line.

The Juventus motto is ‘Fino Alla Fine’ – To The End – and they certainly kept that in mind with this last-gasp victory.

“Football is deadly, we took 97 minutes to win the game, then scored a goal after it hit the post and came back out,” Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.

“The team deserved this victory and played in an organised manner, that was the most important thing. The winner with a minute to go saw us build it up calmly. Szczesny passed it to Miretti, then to Gatti for the cross, Milik’s header and then Cambiaso.

“The lads kept sharp even that late on and that was crucial after a good overall performance.”

Kean was understandably furious after those two incidents and kept asking ‘why’ when he was substituted by Federico Chiesa.

“He did not deserve to come off, but when two goals are disallowed and he gets booked, I thought this is really not his night, get him off! Kean is a player who has improved a great deal, he has changed physically and mentally.”

With the financial problems at the club and their exclusion from Europe, Allegri has been almost forced to focus more on youth products who came through the academy.

“Kean has improved a lot over the last year and he is working very hard in training. I have a weakness for Kenan Yildiz, who was so quick tonight when he came on that he was offside on Milik’s assist. When I see players who make that kind of dummy, I love that, because they are rare.

“Juventus have a squad of real professionals who understand their limitations and want to work on improving them. There are many more who are on loan around the place, so the academy and club have worked really well over the last 10 years to scout and develop these players.

“However, it is important that the media keeps a balance, because one day they are called heroes and the next flops.”

Allegri has never made a secret of his focus on the spirit of sacrifice and grinding down teams for results, even if it does not always make for the most attractive football.

“Football is a masculine sport, there have to be battles on the field, suffering, so we are proud of those qualities and not ashamed of them.”

It means Juve are alone at the top of the table for the first time in over three years, at least for a few hours, because tomorrow Inter host Roma and Milan visit Napoli.

“We must look at the table because we are looking at how far we are from fifth place. I think of all the players on the field today, only three had ever been top of the table before.”

Allegri has repeatedly said the Scudetto is not an objective for Juventus this season, but could it at least be called a dream?

“Let’s say that everything in life is desired. Desiring we finish in the top four is important, desiring to work hard every day in training is important, desiring a win over Verona is important. After all that, we will see where we are.

“As I said, the key is to play in an organised fashion, without trying to over-do it, keeping a sense of calm under pressure. The season is not over yet, so let’s not go overboard with praise. One step at a time.”