Max Allegri tries to look on the positive side of a 1-1 draw away to Bologna, even though he does give Arkadiusz Milik penalty advice. ‘A week ago, we’d have certainly lost a match like this.’
The Bianconeri had the opportunity to leapfrog Lazio into second place, but went behind to a Riccardo Orsolini penalty, then Arkadiusz Milik saw his comical spot-kick saved by Lukasz Skorupski.
Milik made up for it with the equaliser, in a game with numerous saves from both Skorupski and Wojciech Szczesny, not to mention wasteful finishing.
This result ends the run of three consecutive Serie A defeats, but is still another disappointing performance.
“A week ago, we’d have certainly lost a match like this, so let’s look on the positive side and what we need to improve,” Allegri told DAZN.
“It’s true, we waste a lot of chances, for example Soule didn’t have the patience to wait for the ball to come down. These are kids with a dozen Serie A games under their belts, they want to shake up the world and that’s just down to inexperience.
“We have closed up a point from Lazio and keep the advantage over the chasing pack.”
Samuel Iling Junior and Matias Soule seemed to bring a boost to the squad when coming off the bench, even if the latter did miss a sitter.
“They have quality, but you have to accept with young players there will be a few mistakes. We were so eager to win and didn’t manage it, but we picked up points again after three rounds without any.”
It was the first Serie A penalty that Milik had ever taken, so Allegri was asked if the striker had tried that bizarre run-up in training or had it come as a surprise to everyone?
“I think there are moments when you have to hit a penalty hard. Pick a corner and hit it. These are moments that are too important for the game, while Skorupski is also his friend and Poland teammate, so they know each other.”
Juventus sat deep again for long periods and that made their counter-attacks somewhat tricky, leaving the strikers isolated.
“Considering the characteristics of the players at our disposal, we cannot have too much of a high press. We used up a lot of energy in the first half, so the substitutions brought fresh energy. Moving the ball quickly is not the same as moving it hastily.”
Federico Chiesa continues to be used in several different tactical roles, often during the same match.
“Chiesa is doing better physically, he did well today. Federico is a player without a position. He is a forward who is sometimes on the left, sometimes in the centre, you have to hope he can take men on and make the difference. Federico is difficult to cage, so those alongside him must be smart to make the right runs.”
Before kick-off, Juventus CFO Francesco Calvo assured DAZN that Allegri was not up for debate and the club remained committed to the four-year project.
“I feel this faith from the club from the moment I returned,” responded the coach.
“I said this was the most difficult period of the season, we need to keep working and I believe Juventus are doing a good job, especially bringing young players through.
“It would be great to finish in the top four, ideally in second place, and also go forward in the Europa League. I am very happy to be at Juventus.”