Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri predicts an ugly game against Cagliari tomorrow and explains the gap between the Bianconeri and the top three Serie A teams.
Juventus will be looking to bounce back after a 1-0 loss against Inter last week. They visit Walter Mazzarri’s Cagliari tomorrow. What game does Allegri expect?
“It’s going to be very complicated. Cagliari suffered a bad loss in Udine. It’s always hard to play in Cagliari. They are a physical team. I think it will be an ugly game technically and we must be aware of that,” he said at a press conference.
“It’s essential to winning. Roma are just five points behind us and many games are remaining.
“We have one last training session today. Unfortunately, Manuel Locatelli will remain out for four weeks, Alvaro Morata and Mattia De Sciglio are suspended. We have a few absentees, but this is no excuse.”
Will Leonardo Bonucci start in Cagliari tomorrow?
“He is feeling better, I will decide where he’ll start or go on the bench.”
How about Adrien Rabiot? He probably played his best game of the season against Inter…
“Rabiot feels more comfortable in a two-man midfield. He played well against Inter, also technically. I think he will improve. We need to play some games with a three-man midfield,” said Allegri.
“It can be the right game for Kean, Bernardeschi, Vlahovic…it must be the right game for everyone. We must be more clinical up front. We are missing goals right now and that’s the difference between us and those ahead of us.”
Juventus have scored 47 goals in 31 Serie A games. Napoli and Milan have managed 56 each, while Inter have the best attack with 63. The Old Lady has the worst attacking record among the top 10 Serie A teams at the moment.
How did Juventus players react to Inter’s loss?
“There is just one possible reaction. Play good games. Tomorrow’s match will be very different from the one against Inter. It’s never easy to win in Cagliari and we must be prepared, knowing the opponents, their moment and the environment.
“We must win games, that’s the only thing we must think about. There are all the conditions to do well.
“Our target is to get on the top four. For now, we are there, but Roma are close,” the coach continued.
“That’s why we need a great performance tomorrow. We can take no risks, we need to adapt to the game. Tomorrow’s match is too important.
“We played the best games against Atalanta, Villarreal and Inter at home, but we were not clinical enough. We need to improve and be more serene in those situations. I can understand errors in one or two games, but three is an important number and that’s why we need to improve.”
“I’ve analysed what I saw against Inter. I always think about what the team is doing. We deserve to be fourth. We need to work to improve and we can improve before the end of the season. We can work on the development of the single footballers and we have more time because we’ll play one game per week, except the Coppa Italia semi-final with Fiorentina.
“I don’t like compliments, otherwise, we become a team that is satisfied with compliments and finds excuses. I don’t want excuses or compliments, I want victories.”
Paulo Dybala will leave the club in the summer after being told that he is no longer part of the club’s plans for the future. Is it still worth playing him, or will Allegri focus on players who will be in Turin next season?
“We have time to work during the week but at the same time, we have targets. Every player in the team must give his contribution and help us reach a top-four finish, regardless of their future. We have five or six players with a contract expiring. Right now, we must focus on the pitch and on getting results.
“I think Juventus have created a lot in the last three or four months. We haven’t scored much and we must be more efficient up front.
“Had we won against Inter, we would have had a small chance [to win the title], but now we need to focus on our target, we must be lucid. Tomorrow’s game is a tough game, which we need to play in a certain way. We are fourth and we deserved so, when we were tenth, we deserve to be tenth. The rest doesn’t count.”
If we play a fast tempo, close them down with intensity and get the ball to the strikers quickly and accurately, it needn’t be ugly at all!
It’ll be ugly because Cagliari are thugs who do very hard pressing and not much else. They’ll park the bus and come in with very tough tackles. So, Allegri will have studied them.
This guy deseres a raise. 9 million net is not enough for these mastermind analyses.
Every game Juve play is ugly. The old lady are horrid to watch.
Horrid to watch and dominated for nearly a decade. Zeman’s Lecce was beautiful to watch…do you remember them?…… Anyone remember them??
At least PhD Max is being honest but does not see the irony that he has and will always be the gate keeper for horrible football.