Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri says that Alvaro Morata or Dusan Vlahovic could be rested against Empoli tomorrow and insists that it is ‘mathematically impossible’ to see the Bianconeri win the Scudetto this season.
The Old Lady will visit Emploli at the Stadio Castellani tomorrow.
“Surely, it’s a game to win. We lost in the reverse fixture and it’s never easy to play at Empoli,” Allegri said at a press conference.
“We need to give continuity to our recent results. We need solid performance and recharge batteries, physically and mentally.
“Empoli have three offensive players, it’s difficult to play against them. They have no problems in the table, while we know that we must win tomorrow.”
The Bianconeri have several players out of action, including Weston McKennie, who will remain on the sidelines for two months after an injury sustained against Villareal this week.
“We have enough players, some of the U23 are ready to play. Miretti, Soulé and Aké have been training with us lately, but with all these injuries, they’ll spend more time with us,” said Allegri.
“I will make my assessment today. I need to see who feels well in defence. Leonardo Bonucci played 45 minutes in Spain and he was not expected to do so.
“We are sorry for McKennie. He is the only player with certain characteristics. Too bad for Kaio Jorge, who suffered a terrible injury.
“We are waiting for them and Chiesa. We’ll assess Bernardeschi, Rugani and Dybala, who could be, I repeat, could be, available against Fiorentina [on Wednesday]. Chiellini will remain out also next week. Alex Sandro won’t be available tomorrow.”
How about Dusan Vlahovic? Could he play his sixth game in a row?
“Tomorrow, Moise Kean could play, if he does, one between Vlahovic and Alvaro Morata will rest. Kean always has chances to score, so I am very serene.
“We are fighting on all fronts, even if the Scudetto is hard. Actually impossible,” said Allegri.
“We are out of the title race, I think that 85 points will be enough to win the title and we can’t reach that. We have a Coppa Italia semi-final against Fiorentina and the Champions League against Villareal.
“At the moment, it’s a good season. Let’s see which trophies we can lift, it’s not easy to win every year.
“The important thing is to improve, but we have to do more in some situations,” Allegri continued.
“We need to be better when we have the ball. The other day in Champions League, we managed the ball well in some situations, but some other times, we should have been more in control, especially when the opponents did not press much.”
Why are Juventus struggling to score consistently?
“We made many mistakes in Spain and didn’t make the most of some opportunities. We have to improve, we had a few chances against Villarreal and we should have been more clear-headed in the final third.
“Villarreal played with a high defensive line. Vlahovic is scoring goals and I am happy with his Champions League debut as I am happy with how the team is working.
“We must understand the right moment to ‘kill’ the opponents. We were doing well against Villarreal, but then we conceded a goal because we were too naive. When you play at a high level, you can’t give your opponents the chance to get back in the game.”
They’re not quite out of the race yet.
Not because they’re much good, but because the 3 above are nearly as bad.
Boring coach with no confidence
I’m just hopping that Juve give him the boot if they don’t beat Villareal
maybe I’m just wishful thinking
There will be no trophy this year, that’s for sure.
Vlahovic never complained of fatigue and Fiorentina always started him too.
So Vlahovic needs a rest but Alex Sandro, Rabiot, Morata & co don’t?
This man always looks for new ways to lose.
Thank you for all comments here guys, let me give a conclusion here : ALLEGRIOUT
It makes sense to rest Vlahovic since he never played as many total games in a season in Fiorentina.
He is Mad Max..he doesn’t know when to substitute a player… look at other coaches super subs on time and on purpose…Westonie was supposed to out early before the injury and introduce Zakaria sooner…He’s mad max alle…
One could argue that given the results, Pirlo should have stuck around. I mean Pirlo was introducing a completely new style of play for the team and the players he had to work with did not adapt. I would be curious to see how Pirlo would do with a favourable transfer market and no Ronaldo (who while i think was incredible himself, was not so much for a united team)
Anyways, Allegri is a good coach but his tactics are outdated. I wonder why they didnt opt for Zidane? Probably $$$
People on here like to go on the offensive rather than actually think about tactics and details.
Pity…. He is already satisifed with how the team now playing…
Couldn’t agree more with ABC, Pirlo was finally starting to find his feet and the results where finally coming good, with Ronaldos Ego gone he could have furthered the progress of this Juventus team, now they have to adopt once again to a new coach and new tactics, it will take time to adjust and Atleast results and looking more positive than the start of the season, he still hasn’t found a system he’s comfortable with or the players look comfortable with and his team decisions sometimes baffle me, playing Rabiot (at all) on the left side of midfield and playing McKennie left and right mid when these guys are central midfielders or constantly changing the midfield and defense every game and have no consistency shows in the teams performances, I would like him to pick and 11 and stick with it for a few games the introduce others.
All you so called Juventus fans need to eat humble pie and stick with PhD Max. The grandpa tactics of Italian football was met with jubilation from the fake fans and now all of sudden people are shocked and unhappy with the team. The slowest show on earth (Max) has always been a coat tail rider and his game has never been about attacking high pressing football. For those who keep going on about 2 CL finals and Conte never did that, I say Allegri had a much better team and they still got whooped in those finals playing scared ball. The management is more to blame as they gave the grandad 4 long years and if you sack him he gets to drink wine on full pay in his Tuscan Villa. Until the never midfield is probably addressed, nothing will change. I doubt it as well looking at how the centre has never been bolstered in 5-6 years.
Allegri and Juve have learnt NOTHING from this season. Every week we see the same mistakes, the same lethargic displays, the same slow paced football. Other teams can see right through this Juve. It has the personality of a cow dung. Allegri says, he rather win ugly than to play pretty and not win…guess what Max??? you are not even winning ugly….what a muppet of a coach!!!
@Lord Allegri, you are spot on and have been saying this for ages. It is true but that is football for you. When any team wins everything is okay and it does not matter how the team plays, but when they lose the whole world collapses. Agnelli and co have made dug their own grave yet keep digging to make the hole bigger. Inter have been very clever to tie Marotta down long term as decision making is crucial. I think Vlahovic will rue the day he joined not Juventus but an Allegri team as those 4 years are going to feel like a lifetime.
You have to be familiar with Allegri psycho strategy. I believe he will make the best line up tonight especially after seeing negative results gained by Milan and Inter today.