Max Allegri calls for calm and ‘balance’ from the media after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Lecce. ‘Over the last few days we’ve gone from Scudetto rivals for Inter to being flops.’
The Bianconeri badly needed a boost after their 4-2 defeat to Sassuolo, but were jeered off the pitch by their own fans going into the half-time break at the Allianz Juventus Stadium.
They finally scraped the victory thanks to a single goal from Arkadiusz Milik, who came sliding in at the back post to meet the Adrien Rabiot knockdown after a corner was not cleared effectively.
There were precious few other scoring opportunities, but the points do allow Juve to leapfrog Lecce, who had been in third place going into this midweek round.
“It was important to get the win, especially after a chaotic defeat against Sassuolo. We were up against a Lecce side that allow you very little, but we stayed balanced and made the most of our chances,” Allegri told DAZN.
Despite the positive result, Allegri stormed off down the tunnel a few moments before the final whistle was blown in Turin.
“We must not play the ball backwards so much, with a minute to go you cannot just punt a ball into the box, but we need to sort these things out.
“Against Sassuolo, we started strong, but then allowed too much at the other end, so it was better this time to keep the game in the balance and make the most of the chances we do create.”
Allegri has said since the start that Juventus are not in the title race and their aim is to finish in the top four.
“Over the last few days we have gone from Scudetto rivals for Inter to being flops, so there has to be a little balance in the way we are talked about.
“I don’t want to hide here, Inter, Milan and Napoli have better resources than us to win the title. We have many players without a great deal of experience, but they can grow. It takes patience and time to absorb errors and learn from them.”
Federico Gatti was dropped to the bench after his comical own goal against Sassuolo, but came on in the final stages for Daniele Rugani today.
“Gatti was attacked for an error, but he only has 27 Serie A appearances under his belt, it takes a little patience. Rugani had an extraordinary game today, but he is used to it because he has been at Juventus for eight years and has that calm head.”