Max Allegri believes Juve’s 1-1 draw with Inter was a tactical game that they regret not winning, but concedes that a draw is the ‘fair’ result. The Bianconeri took the lead through Juan Cuadrado before Romelu Lukaku converted a late penalty right at the death, leaving it at 1-1 in the first leg of the Coppa Italia Semi-final. Speaking in his post-match press conference (as quoted by TuttoJuve), Allegri talked through the game as he saw it, explained the significance of having legend Alessandro Del Piero in the stadium and how he would tackle the second leg at San Siro:
Why this nervousness against Inter?
“In the end I don’t know, because after the penalty the game was over. It seemed strange that nothing had happened during the game. It was a tactical game and in the second half we went up, we had to turn the ball over faster. In the second half there was the feeling that we could win the game. Then football is also like this, with Bremer jumping out of time, but we made a mistake before where we shouldn’t have conceded the throw to Bastoni. You have to accept it, the match was balanced. Inter are a strong team, we knew we would play for it in the return leg. There is regret for not winning, but it was a balanced game and the draw is fair”.
How do you play a final at the San Siro?
“It comes in a month anyway, now we have important games Lazio, Sporting and Sassuolo. We have to take one step at a time and we’ll think about the Coppa Italia later. In the return leg it will be a dry game where we have to win either in the 90 minutes or on penalties. Now we have to concentrate on the championship. When you start the season I always say that you have to get to April in all competitions and finish the championship in the top four. Then we have to see what happens. For the club it is important every year to play in the Champions League. At the moment we are in all fronts, then if we are good and lucky we will be able to win something.
Did you expect more from Vlahovic and Di Maria?
“Vlahovic played a good game in the first half, Angel is an extraordinary player, sometimes we look for him too much even when he shouldn’t be looked for. Then I took him off because I needed a player like Chiesa”.
How is Chiesa’s recovery going?
“I don’t want to be a know-it-all, for me this is the norm for Chiesa. I’ve said that we’ll see the real Chiesa next year. Before tonight we played 40 games, in a season that’s 3600 minutes not including stoppages. Federico has played 900 minutes. This year he needs to put in minutes, it’s a gradual path he’s taking. Then he had a tendon inflammation, it’s normal that a player like him can have physical difficulties. I’m very happy with what he’s doing, now he has less pain and in the next games he’ll improve his condition.”
A verdict on Cuadrado?
“Cuadrado scored an extraordinary goal, he is always decisive. For the future we’ll see, now we have an important month ahead”.
How does it feel to have Del Piero at the stadium?
“I think he can no longer play football. In the future he will have a managerial role I don’t know if at Juventus, but that’s up to the club”.
Why was the circulation of the ball so slow?
“In the first half we were a bit too slow, better in the second half when we occupied the spaces and the area better. We are sorry for the goal we took in the final”.
