Massimiliano Allegri notes that Juventus hadn’t played a game for the top spot of the Serie A table in three years and insists the Bianconeri, including Kenan Yildiz, are going through a ‘growth path.’
The Bianconeri are now four points below Inter, but the Nerazzurri have a game in hand, so they can potentially go +7 on the Old Lady if they beat Atalanta at home later in February.
Allegri seemed upset during a post-match press conference attended by Football Italia on Sunday but insisted that Juventus have not been built to win the Serie A title, while Inter started a project with Antonio Conte a few years ago and were title contenders in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
He said Juventus players were angry after losing 1-0 against the Nerazzurri, which confirms the Old Lady’s ambitions, but noted that the Bianconeri must take step by step to be title contenders again in the next few years.
Three key Allegri quotes from the post-match Inter press conference.
Title race – “Juventus hadn’t played a game for the top of the table for three years. We will hear names of these players in the coming years when they’ll gain experience as they play more games like this.”
Yildiz – “He has played seven games for Juventus. It’s part of a process. These guys need to go through a growth path. The new signing [Alcaraz] made his debut with a good attitude, but these players must develop and manage to qualify for the Champions League, which we missed this season. Nobody expected Juventus to be four points behind Inter. If somebody expected Juventus to be title contenders, maybe they can read the team’s trajectory better than me.”
Ambition – “Inter have started a path with Antonio Conte. For them, it’s the norm [to fight for the title]. Juventus have changed 15 players since I arrived. Ten of our players were born after 2000. These are facts. We need to go through this path with serenity and the club is aware of it. There is a good and united group here. The players were angry when they left the pitch but the good news is that we improved physically in the final minutes.”