Juventus’ exasperating 1-0 loss to Monza was the latest poor result to plague the Old Lady, further increasing the pressure on coach Massimiliano Allegri.
The Bianconeri are currently sat 8th in the Serie A table after the opening seven games, picking up 10 points from two wins and four draws. They’re already seven points behind league leaders Napoli and Atalanta, and things have gone no better in Europe.
Juventus lost their first two Champions League matches against Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica, making a win against Maccabi Haifa absolutely vital if the team want to keep any hope of progressing to the knockout stages.
Whilst it’s true that injuries have severely limited Allegri’s options on the pitch, that excuse can only go so far as the pressure starts to mount. Despite this situation, it may take a little while longer until the club decide to cut their losses and dismiss the Italian coach.
CEO Maurizio Arrivabene was clear before the game against Monza, noting how “a change would be absolute madness” and highlighting the remaining years on the coach’s contract. This is a key aspect – Allegri earns around €9m per season in Turin and is contracted to Juventus until 2025, so dismissing him would not come cheap.
Brighton’s appointment of Roberto De Zerbi yesterday also means that there’s a lack of convincing replacements ready to take over should Allegri depart. Due to this, it’s likely that the club will wait until after the World Cup at least before making any technical changes, allowing the coach to rediscover some of his injured stars like Federico Chiesa and Paul Pogba.