Max Allegri explained his frustration at Juve’s 1-0 win over Milan: ‘Playing against 10 men, you have to use the pitch like an airport…’. The Bianconeri had a numerical advantage for the entirety of the second half but failed to make it count, despite taking a lead through Manuel Locatelli. Allegri was pictured on the sidelines, ripping off his jacket and tie in anger over the way some of his players were handling the match. Speaking with DAZN post-match, he offered an explanation for his outburst:
“It was a game played well defensively by Juventus in the first half, then football is made up of episodes and certainly a good play was made by Kean. Once we were in numerical superiority we didn’t start very well, but after that the management of the ball had to be done better: with more patience we could close the actions without leaving Milan the chance to counter attack.
“The numerical superiority was there, but Leao was able to cancel it out. The lads did well, it’s been a long time since we won against Milan and I just have to thank them.”
“It was all about passing. Against a team down to 10, the pitch has to become like an airport so they can’t get to the ball. And when you have the ball you have to finish the action without letting them counter-attack. You don’t make narrow passes anymore, you don’t make dribbles and counter-attacks. These are things that need to be improved, but we also had guys with little experience and playing at the San Siro tonight was not easy.”
“Leao? Every now and then he ran away from double marking. Leao was a threat , but Gatti was very good as was Weah. In the first half we conceded little and nothing. Then we had an incident in our favour and the lads did well’.
“The win gives us a different dimension if we are aware of where we need to improve. If we are content with the victory, we are going nowhere. We have to improve the handling of the ball from 60 minutes to 90 minutes. You have to go for it there, you must not force the play. Inter, Milan and Napoli remain the favourites for the Scudetto, it’s not a game that changes the situation.
“We must return to the Champions League. I’m happy that a player born in 2005 made his debut, he came in with serenity and calmness in playing: he never put his team-mates in trouble and reminded me of Ciro Ferrara.”
“The table? They’re piling up behind, between Atalanta and Roma. We have to take one step at a time trying to have a good first half of the season and then we’ll see the return”.
