Giorgio Chiellini maintains Juventus ‘should be proud’ of their performance in a 2-1 defeat to Napoli, while Cristiano Ronaldo is in the past. ‘This will be Paulo Dybala’s team.’
The Bianconeri had taken the lead at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona when Alvaro Morata caught Kostas Manolas in possession, but Matteo Politano and Kalidou Koulibaly tapped in rebounds to turn the game around.
“The team was united throughout the game, so we should be satisfied and proud with what we saw, with all things considered,” the captain told DAZN.
Juve were missing Federico Chiesa, Arthur, Kaio Jorge and all their South American players, who returned late from international duty and remained in Turin.
“We deserved to get a result here, but all we can do now is work more and talk less. We knew there would be difficulties this season, although not perhaps that we’d be in this position after three games.”
Juve are in crisis after drawing 2-2 with Udinese, then suffering back-to-back defeats against Empoli and Napoli.
Chiellini was asked what advice he had given Allegri, who returned to Turin after two seasons away.
“Just that we need to work and become a team. Nonetheless, I feel we deserved at least a draw today, but we’ve been through certain situations before. We’ll slowly get back up there.”
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Newcastle United, his ‘debut’ back at the Premier League club.
Considering Juve’s struggles this season, Chiellini was inevitably asked about losing the Ballon d’Or winner.
“When you have a world class player like Cristiano, you cannot help but use the team to play for him. We must be grateful to Cristiano for all he did during these years at Juventus, but we carry on.
“This will be Paulo Dybala’s team. Over the last couple of years, he lowered his average goals because of Cristiano’s presence, but he is a key player for this team and that is recognised by everyone.”