Max Allegri will not rule Juventus out of the Scudetto race after surging past Lazio into third place and hails Moise Kean for his ‘different mental approach’ this season.
The Bianconeri have truly turned a corner to conclude 2022 in third place, as this was their sixth consecutive Serie A victory, all of them with clean sheets.
The club had not achieved that run since December 2018, during Allegri’s first stint in Turin.
Moise Kean scored either side of half-time with a delightful lob and on the rebound from a parried Filip Kostic effort, then Arkadiusz Milik met a Federico Chiesa assist for 3-0.
Wojciech Szczesny kept the clean sheet safe with a last-gasp save on Felipe Anderson.
“The lads did well, especially after a tough month. It was not easy against Lazio, we had the patience to close their passing channels, allowing them practically nothing until the final minutes,” Allegri told DAZN.
“We raised the technical quality of the squad when introducing players like Di Maria, Chiesa and Paredes once Lazio had run out of steam and we controlled the ball well.”
The break for the World Cup might be coming at the wrong time for Juventus, because they really are on a remarkable run of victories, but at the same time the injury crisis could ease by the time they get back in January.
“We have too many players with question marks over them and now we have the opportunity to get them back fully fit, for example Chiesa and Paul Pogba. We needed this break to have a breather.
“I think when we do resume, there will be a game every three days, we will try to go all the way in the Europa League and there will be space for everyone to give their contribution.
“Substitutions become decisive now too, as the final 30 minutes become a different game.”
Adrien Rabiot was playing closer to Manuel Locatelli this evening, in part to close down Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
“The whole team works hard, that is why we have the best defensive record. The spirit has improved, it helps to win and create momentum.
“I would’ve been angry if we conceded in the final minute tonight, so keeping these clean sheets is another step.”
Kean has always been something of a rough diamond, but seems to be finally flourishing in the Bianconeri jersey.
“He is far more balanced mentally, as when you are young and he is so exuberant, it all gets a bit much. He is working hard, he weighs 5-6kg less than last season and you can see he has a different mental approach.”
Allegri was asked what changed to make such a dramatic difference from the Juventus that started the campaign and struggled so badly to then notch up six straight wins?
“I don’t like giving explanations in football, as things can change so quickly from one day to the next. Football is simple really, you have to win games, there are different ways of doing that. I can only thank the lads for their performances.”
Considering Napoli are eight points clear at the top of the table and Juventus now move into third place, can they believe in the Scudetto too?
“Napoli are having their own separate season with a remarkable pace. I don’t think the Scudetto can be won with less than 90 points this year.
“We’re a long way behind. Just six rounds ago, nobody believed we would be third in the table, so that is a step forward. Now we need to recharge our batteries and be ready to resume in January.”
Still the show is bad. 2 goals were too easy and lucky for kean. Lmao
Gump always believed. He is the wisest among us.
Where is the keyboard happy Lord ?? I guess his mom gave him some love finally.
@white rabbit His gandma forgot to pay the power bill
Allegri out, go back to inter where u belong
Lord Allegri AKA Mustafa certainly didn’t. He’s now in a self-imposed exile. 😁
@Cypher, do you think lord Allegri troll is actually that clown Mustafa? Well tbh, that makes sense.
lol thank FI for taking down my glorious post. Mustafa, you must be getting more paranoid clowns.
Always kept commenting that Allegri should be kept beyond 2025 so extend him!