Check out the five takeaways from Massimiliano Allegri and Walter Mazzarri’s post-match press conferences, including the Juventus coach revealing why Dusan Vlahovic was subbed off in the second half.
Football Italia is among the accredited media at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Friday for Juventus’ home game against Napoli. Here are the takeaways from Allegri and Mazzarri’s post-match press conferences.
Allegri
On Gatti
“If we think that three years ago he was playing in the third division, he has made incredible progress. He proved so with the goal he scored. He is dangerous in the box. He is aware he must improve defensively, but it’s normal. He is so eager to improve that he will do it, like the others.”
On title ambitions
“We have a bigger gap from Napoli, 12 points now; we have earned 36 points now, but they are not even enough to survive. We need more to stay in the top four without thinking about what will happen on May 26. We must focus on Genoa, it won’t be easy. They are doing well, especially at home. Every time we get a good result, we must raise the level of attention and focus because there are more perils.”
On Vlahovic
“Vlahovic played a good game, he worked hard. If we defend well it’s because strikers do a great job. He was subbed off due to cramps. I ask strikers to work hard because we have important players on the bench.”
- Allegri to DAZN – ‘The more Juventus keep going like this…’
Mazzarri
On the game
“Juventus stay in the bunker and never lose an aerial duel. We pay a high price as soon as we make a mistake. We were not quite lucky either. Juventus are a physical team; sometimes, you need goals from outside the box. We had a few chances, but we were not accurate. You saw Calhanoglu [last week]. He had a chance and he destroyed our goal.”
On Napoli’s season
“I’ve just returned and moments like this can happen. Everything worked perfectly last season because they had a big advantage [on their opponents]. A city like Naples expected the same start this season; a few things have changed, and some players are no longer here. This term, they have the responsibility of being the defending champions too. Of course, if things were going well, they wouldn’t have called me.”
- Mazzarri to DAZN – ‘Napoli have problems, but can get a run of results’