Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri believes there’s ‘prejudice’ towards Alvaro Morata and said the Spain international was ‘among the best’ against Atalanta. ‘But what we have done is not enough’.
The Bianconeri aim to bounce back from the back-to-back defeats to Chelsea and Atalanta in the Champions League and Serie A respectively.
On Tuesday, Allegri’s men travel to Salerno for a ‘complicated’ match against newly promoted Salernitana.
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The coach hopes to turn things around immediately and enjoy a great run until Christmas, with six games in 22 days until the winter break.
“The match in Salerno is complicated due to the environmental issue,” Allegri said. “We need to do something more, because what we have done is not enough.”
Allegri was reminded of the times he has managed to turn around difficult moments at Juventus but stressed he never ‘invented anything’ in the past and pointed at the need for organisation.
“I never invented anything, I only made a virtue out of necessity,” he continued. “Right now we need order, concreteness and serenity.
“We have a run-up that becomes fun, I don’t mean to finish first, I don’t know. But it’s still a run-up, we must find a way to get out of the storm and we must not fight it.”
Mattia De Sciglio struggles with a muscle injury and Allegri confirmed he will not be back in time to play against Salernitana on Tuesday and revealed goalkeeper Mattia Perin is still out too.
“Perin, no,” Allegri said. “De Sciglio is not quite ready, we will see against Genoa.”
Juventus are tied sixth in Serie A with Fiorentina, Lazio and Bologna after 14 games and are struggling to compete with the top teams in the league.
Allegri was asked about the business made on the transfer market and claimed Juventus have made the ‘right’ calls.
“The choices on the transfer market were right. We have scored few goals compared to the chances created,” he said.
“Maybe everything will change tomorrow. But it’s not that they have unlearned how to score. [Paulo] Dybala has goals in his legs, as well as [Moise] Kean.
“They will start scoring and maybe we will see things in a different way.”
Allegri was asked if captain Giorgio Chiellini and mentioned Moise Kean could start in Salerno.
“I want to make a clarification. On Saturday, [Alvaro] Morata played one of the best games since the beginning of the season,” Allegri said.
“I think he was among the best on the pitch and I’m sorry because judgments must be given objectively.
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“So, either I don’t understand or there are prejudices. At this moment, we need Chiellini’s experience and the freshness of the youngsters.”
The lack of goals was a hot topic on the press conference and Allegri was asked about the service for the strikers in the squad.
“Kean is one who attacks the area more, Morata likes to run a bit more,” Allegri said. “The objective fact is that we have scored few goals.
“Maybe things change from tomorrow or Sunday. The performance was good on Saturday. Atalanta made defensive changes and the way they play to get the result.”
He was asked if Dejan Kulusevski could be the solution against Salernitana tomorrow.
“I don’t know if he’s the right solution, the right solution is to try to win the game,” Allegri replied. “Then, I don’t know if it’s Kulusevski, [Matias] Soulé or Chiellini.”
Allegri revealed the players in the Bianconeri squad ‘want to do something more’ and claimed they must be patient and organised.
“The mood is that of a moment where we are behind in the championship,” Allegri added. “Everyone wants to do something more, but now we need to have order.
“We will get out of it, it requires serenity. The more excited we get, the more mess we make. We need to start from the simple things and then things will arrive as a consequence.
“It’s not that we isolate ourselves, we are inside Juventus. The President spoke to the team on Saturday and this morning to the employees. He cheered us up.”
Kaio Jorge has played five times in Serie A and has yet to score, but Allegri claimed the 19-year-old needs to ‘gain experience’ before he will meet the expectations.
“He is growing, he needs to gain experience like other youngsters who are with us and can help us,” Allegri said.
“There’s no transition at Juventus. We need to be aware that we are sixth in the table and responsible.
“For now, we are in the knockout stages of the Champions League, and we have a run-up ahead that can be stimulating.”