Max Allegri insists the 2-2 draw with Atalanta ‘is an important result’ for Juventus and hits out at some fans in the crowd for ‘not helping’ the team with jeers. ‘Remember the objective.’
The Bianconeri had been caught out by a free kick routine, then turned it around with two goals in four minutes from Andrea Cambiaso and Arkadiusz Milik.
However, Teun Koopmeiners completed his brace for the 2-2 final result, which means Juve now have just one win in their last seven Serie A rounds.
They also drop below Milan into third place and are now a whopping 17 points adrift of leaders Inter.
“I think we had a good performance against a good Atalanta team, they did well with that free kick and the second goal, whereas we could’ve defended better,” Allegri told DAZN.
“We had more determination, grit and technique too in the second half. We need to improve our defending when we are in the lead, because the same thing happened against Napoli last week and before that too. We are conceding goals too easily.
“It involves working on the situations, but there are also moments in a campaign and we need to focus on the positives. Let us not forget today we earned a point over Bologna, kept Atalanta 11 points behind us. Let us not forget the objective is to finish in the top four.
“The lads did very well in an atmosphere where part of the stadium did not help us, especially in the first half. There are areas where we can do better, but the effort and desire was never lacking from this team.”
Juventus had been in the Scudetto race until a few weeks ago, but have seemingly plummeted since the defeat to Inter and have now been overtaken by Milan.
Nonetheless, Allegri insists he is not concerned by recent results.
“No, because it’s all about perceptions. If we had lost two games earlier in the season, then beat Atalanta and drew with Napoli, you would perceive the 58 points differently.
“We must not lose sight of the objective, which is to qualify for the marvellous competition that is the Champions League.”
Federico Chiesa’s tactical role in the traditional Allegri 3-5-2 has been the cause of some controversy, but is it starting to evolve?
“We tried to build out from the back with four this evening to create spaces in front. We could’ve used some of those situations better, for example using Milik’s height to go long. McKennie is very effective and pushing forward, and against a side like Atalanta who do a lot of man-marking, that is important.
“We were coming off a difficult period, it might not seem like it, but this is a very important result for us.”
There was a banner in the crowd for ‘Immense Allegri’ after he reached 1,000 Serie A points, so at least some of the fans were behind him, while others jeered.
“It is pleasing because it means they recognised my work, but those fans helped the lads during a difficult moment of the match,” replied the coach.
“We all have an objective and the fans must recognise too that they want to see us in the Champions League. The team might be criticised, so can the coach, but nobody can reproach us for our efforts.
“We try to win every game, it’s not always possible, and qualifying for the Champions League is the objective. It doesn’t matter if we seal it with the last minute of the last game, the important thing is that we get it.
“These lads meanwhile are maturing and building up a thick skin, which you need at Juventus.”