Massimiliano Allegri insists Juventus “can’t go 100mph all season” as Serie A’s bottom four prove an 18-team League would be “more balanced and beautiful”.
Accusations of Juve not playing at the level they had showed in previous seasons came to a head after their 3-1 defeat to Genoa last weekend, but Allegri made it clear the fans needed to accept there would be times when the Bianconeri dropped their tempo.
Massimiliano Allegri insists Juventus “can’t go 100mph all season” as Serie A’s bottom four prove an 18-team League would be “more balanced and beautiful”.
Accusations of Juve not playing at the level they had showed in previous seasons came to a head after their 3-1 defeat to Genoa last weekend, but Allegri made it clear the fans needed to accept there would be times when the Bianconeri dropped their tempo.
“Juve are going at cruising speed. We can’t go 100mph all season, there are times when we have to go 80,” the Coach said at a Press conference ahead of Saturday’s Serie A clash with high-flying Atalanta.
“Your position in the table doesn’t crumble, like the world around Juve [are saying], if you lose once.
“We’re also first in our Champions League group. We have the duty of making amends for our performance against Genoa, then we’ll think about Dinamo.
“Who do I like in Atalanta’s team? Gagliardini’s banned, but he’s taken off on his own. The Italian national team has a great future, there are some very good young players ranging between the birth years of 1992 and 2000.
“Only few Italians against Genoa? One of the Italians on the pitch made our first big mistake. We have an important group of foreign players that know about Juve’s history.
“Atalanta? They have few weaknesses, they’ve won seven games out of eight, including the last six in a row.
“They have great enthusiasm, a great Coach and are a good club that invest heavily in young players.”
Allegri then stated which side of the fence he sat on the topic of Serie A possibly downsizing from 20 teams to 18.
“The Scudetto? It’s been very nice and balanced so far. There’s only a few points separating the top seven, although the bottom four are some way adrift,” he added.
“It’s proof that if the League had 18 teams, it’d be even more balanced and beautiful. Still, the Italian league remains one of the most beautiful in the world.”