Max Allegri believes the reason for Juve’s late 1-0 victory over Udinese is down to their ‘fitness levels and mental strength’. The Bianconeri left it late for the second game in a row, snatching a late win thanks to a Danilo goal that was set up perfectly by Federico Chiesa. It extends the Old Lady’s winning run to eight games in a row without a single goal conceded, pushing them up to second in the table, just five points behind Napoli. Speaking to DAZN/JTV after the game, Allegri identified what he saw as the key reasons for Juve’s good run of results:
“We are in a good period of form, but we must raise the bar in terms of performances. We didn’t have the right concentration against Cremonese, it was better with Udinese who are a strong side and we had more chances in the second half,” the coach told DAZN.
“We brought home the win late on because of good fitness levels and also mental strength. Technical skill is crucial, but if you don’t have that desire to give that little bit extra and get there a few centimetres before your opponent, you don’t win these games.
We were a bit hasty with our crosses and passes. In the second half, McKennie was in a more central midfield role and we put more pressure on, so he has different characteristics playing wide and we knew there could be difficulties, but that the game would improve as time wore on.
Tonight we knew the difficulty of the match, Udinese are strong technically and are well organized. In the first half we made technical mistakes and they jumped on us. It was a balanced game and we did not risk much. In the second half the team clearly played better, we could have scored earlier, but it came at the end.
This spirit was built by the players and the credit goes to the whole team. Making an extra inch, that extra run and sacrificing all together, who plays and who comes on to replace him. This is the only way to play as many games as possible. Hopefully the injured will come back to let the others breathe, because now we will play every four days.
There were technical mistakes, but it’s also due to the opponent pressing us as hard as in Cremona. When we didn’t rush the play, Kean had a chance. We could have scored with Rugani. In the second half we grew physically, ran vertically and went inside. We did well against an organized and strong Udinese.
Napoli? It is a beautiful and important match in a sold-out stadium, Napoli-Juventus always is. We have to take one step at a time, today we got an important result and it was not easy. It was important to win the second game after the break. To play the Champions League we have to get there. We need sporting and economic results for the club. Today we consolidated fourth place which is important.
A title comeback? I believe it’s a matter of conviction and doing our best. Napoli is keeping a hell of a pace. We can only see, without making externalizations, triumphalism. We have to keep a low profile because we haven’t won anything and everything is decided in the last months.
Di Maria? The performance was extraordinary on a technical level, in the second half he made a couple of wonderful plays that started some counter attacks.”
