Max Allegri urges Juventus to remain ‘calm’ after their 1-0 defeat to Roma and the incredible Moise Kean red card within 40 seconds. ‘One game cannot bring down all the good work we’ve done.’
It really was not the Bianconeri’s night, as they hit the woodwork three times at the Stadio Olimpico and were beaten by a ferocious long-range Gianluca Mancini rocket into the far bottom corner.
Things went from bad to worse when Allegri introduced Moise Kean as a late substitute and the striker got himself sent off for a reaction foul on Mancini after just 40 seconds.
“We should’ve done more in the first half, as Roma were already starting to get a little loose between the lines, but then we conceded that goal out of nowhere. This is football and you emerge defeated. The red card obviously didn’t help,” Allegri told DAZN.
Angel Di Maria started as the lone support for Dusan Vlahovic, who again seemed isolated upfront, with Juve doing better once Federico Chiesa and Paul Pogba came off the bench.
“Chiesa and Pogba are not at 100 per cent. The lads need to be calm, we have amassed 50 points this season. It was a difficult match, it feels like the world is crumbling around you, but we can reboot.
“Everyone likes to talk from the outside, but in the history of football, nobody has ever experienced a situation like the one Juventus are having this season. One game cannot bring down all the good work we’ve done.”
Technically, the Bianconeri have indeed put together 50 points, but the 15-point penalty for artificially inflating transfer fees to boost capital gains sees them stuck in mid-table.
When asked if perhaps the tension of that penalty had affected Kean, Allegri wanted no excuses for his striker.
“Kean made a mistake, end of story, and he put the team in trouble. He apologised afterwards. Everything is a learning experience. These lads need to stay focused. We have to finish in the top four and at the moment we’d be in second place.
“The objective is to close down on the teams above us. We threw away three points tonight and could’ve been within nine points of Roma. In football, deserving a result means nothing. If you win, you deserve it, if you lose then you made a mistake somewhere.”
The coach also explained why he had taken Manuel Locatelli off after seeming irritated with his performance.
“I think that after the goal, Locatelli pushed forward too much and left Adrien Rabiot alone. We needed to be more orderly after the goal, as there were still 35 minutes left and we created several scoring opportunities against a very good Roma side. We should’ve made more of our chances and also closed down Mancini before he got his shot away.”
Calm??? Calm is what puts us in 7th .. back pedaling doesn’t win games .. allegri outttttt