Max Allegri hopes Dusan Vlahovic’s goal can represent a new start for him and Juventus, praises Paul Pogba’s attitude and sets the target for Champions League qualification.
The Bianconeri beat Lecce 2-1 in Turin, ending a run of just one point from four Serie A rounds, as Leandro Paredes scored with a free kick before Vlahovic’s winner.
There was also bad news, because De Sciglio was stretchered off with what immediately seemed to be a serious knee injury and has now been confirmed as a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
“Unfortunately, Mattia has a lesion to the cruciate ligament. He was in good shape, playing well, he will have the time to recover and get back to playing,” Allegri told DAZN.
“In these games, you need to finish the job. You have to score more goals, we had numerous chances and often got the wrong pass wrong. Lecce are a tough side to play against, they have caused problems for a lot of opponents and we risked conceding an equaliser. We allowed too much in defence, even from non-existent situations, and we have to improve.
“We keep wasting chances, we did the same with Sassuolo last week, and we have to do better because anything can happen on a set play and you concede out of nowhere.”
Allegri had said before kick-off that Vlahovic had to ‘react and fight back’ against his recent goal drought and the Serbian certainly listened, as he scored the winner with a splendid first-time strike on Filip Kostic’s cross.
“He scored an extraordinary goal and I think improved as the game went on, running into space, in duels with close marking. Unfortunately, he had never experienced this sort of thing, as he came from Fiorentina where everything went well for him, but every player has a period like this in their careers. He just needed to stay calm and get through it. I hope it can be a starting point for him and for Juventus.
“Paredes was more balanced in his positioning than before, when he used to wander around the pitch too much. It was a deserved victory against a very good Lecce.
“We had almost forgotten how to celebrate a victory, as it had been a month since we’d won a game!”
Pogba came off the bench and impressed with some good moves, both attacking and defending.
“For the first time, I saw Paul look confident and in good shape. I’d have wanted him like that from the start of the season, it has been a cursed campaign for him. He is not in a condition to play 90 minutes and he knows it, but it doesn’t matter if he plays 60 minutes or 30, the important thing is that he comes on with the attitude he had today and is decisive.”
The race for the Champions League places is going down to the wire, as Atalanta squeezed past Spezia 3-2 and are closing on the top spots, while this weekend there will be Milan–Lazio, Roma–Inter and Atalanta-Juventus.
“It doesn’t matter if we are against Atalanta, Milan, Lecce or Cremonese, the important thing is to get a certain number of points. I think if you don’t get 72 or 73 points, you are unlikely to finish in the top four. This weekend will have some important head-to-head clashes, so on Sunday evening I think we’ll know what points tally is needed for the Champions League.”