Max Allegri believes no team in history has had to go through what Juve are experiencing at present: ‘I have to congratulate the boys for what they’re doing’. The Bianconeri played an even match against Roma at the Olimpico last night, but Gianluca’s Mancini’s second-half effort from outside the box was enough to decide matters. Speaking with DAZN (as quoted by TuttoJuve) after the game, Allegri addressed the cagey nature of the game, Moise Kean’s late red card and why he believes the players have to be congratulated for the way they are handling the 15-point penalty:
You hit the post three times, a very even match, but what did Roma do to make the difference?
“We knew the difficulties, Roma are a scrappy team who don’t concede, we had these chances against Roma it’s not easy. In the first half we could do something more, but they ran a lot, many of their players finished the game with cramps, in difficulty. At the end of the first half they were already dropping between the lines, with the midfielders, then unfortunately we conceded this goal where we could have defended better, we could have managed the ball better at the goal kick, then this is football, you don’t manage to score and you go out defeated, in a game where we certainly could have done better, with the chances we had. Even at the end we had a good chance with Danilo, then unfortunately there was also an expulsion after 40 seconds that in the last 9 minutes could have given us a hand.”
What do you think the sending off was dictated by?
“Kean was wrong, he apologised, but he was wrong because he put the team in trouble, so you always have to learn from these things anyway. By the way, it was a foul in his favour and he had the wrong reaction.”
In the first half you had difficulties, in the second you put in this 4-3-3 that you tried at the start of the season. Do you think the boys are ready to play like that?
“At that moment there was a need to play like that, Pogba however is still not 100%, playing from the start he struggles, Chiesa I have to manage him, although tonight he came on very well from the bench. We have another game on Thursday and another on Sunday. I think that in addition to all these things that are going well, I also told the boys at the end of the game, the boys must stay calm and reassured, because the team has scored 50 points so far, then it’s normal that that today’s was a game that would have allowed us to get to 38 points, to beat Roma, to get closer to Atalanta, so when you lose a game like that, in a normal position, because we would momentarily be second, but we are not.
Tomorrow we have to recover, on Tuesday we have to resume training and start again, because what the boys are doing is something important, because from the outside everyone talks, they talk about technique, tactics, but in the history of football I think the situation that Juventus has suffered this year has never happened, so I really have to congratulate the boys for what they are doing. We have important goals to achieve and a defeat cannot bring down what we are doing.”
Is there a sense of frustration?
“One should not fall into frustration. Kean made a mistake regardless of that…. Kean made a mistake and full stop. He came in, maybe he was nervous because he hadn’t played, anyway he put the team in trouble. However, the boys must remain calm, I also spoke to them after the game, because in these moments, above all, but also after a draw, it seems that the world collapses on you, instead it must absolutely not collapse. We could have scored a few more, a few less, I don’t know, but we scored 50 points. We must continue to work on this, then what happened, will happen, it does not depend on the field. We have to get to the end of the championship and be in the top four, at the moment we are second.”
Which department could have done better? Today the midfield could have put Roma’s midfield under more pressure as they looked a bit tired, in more difficulty.
“I think that after the goal, Locatelli pushed up, we left Rabiot in front of the defence a lot, and we needed a bit more order because there were 35 minutes to go, so at that moment you can quickly turn games around. Then there are some good moments. Let’s not forget when Pogba is inside the area, he has to shoot and instead he passes it, when Vlahovic has to shoot from inside the area, the last chance of Danilo and it seemed to me quite sensational, but this is football, tonight it had to go like this against a Roma that is playing a very good season, and we know the characteristics of Roma, It’s six games that they don’t concede goals at home and tonight we say that we could have had better chances, The first two crosses of the second half,… we approached the second half of the match well, in one Fagioli beat the ball short but it went over his head and the other there was Leo in the box and he had to go and finish at the far post. We certainly could have done better in those situations. We conceded a goal from 25 yards, Mancini did well, but we had to come out earlier. This is football and must be accepted. We have to think about what we’re doing, then they can say what they like, that doesn’t interest me.”
Vlahovic scores less this season than in past seasons.
“He scores less, today he played a good game technically, he did very well compared to the last one he played. He also had chances when he didn’t shoot, he was present in the area. When Chiesa comes in closer it is normal that we have more chances and we are more offensive.”
Does the Europa League become the first goal of the season?
“Juventus’ goal is to try to reach those in front, there are 13 games left, unfortunately we threw away three points tonight, even with a draw we were holding Roma to 10 points, to 9 points, but football is strange. Even in the first leg we deserved to win, but in football deserving is useless, in football if you win you are good, if you lose you did something wrong, very simple.”
