Juventus coach Max Allegri revealed Paul Pogba has picked up another knock during their 2-0 win over Empoli. The Bianconeri got back to winning ways following a disappointing draw to Bologna last weekend, with goals coming from club captain Danilo and a late solo effort from Federico Chiesa. Allegri was rueful about his teams chances of closing the gap at the top, pointing to the teams inexperience and the lower average age in the team:
How is Pogba? We had the impression he wasn’t very well and was limping.
“He had a discomfort at the back, in his leg, we’ll see tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, from the exams, hopefully it’s nothing serious, because he was also finding an acceptable condition. He’s a different player from the others, you could see it when he came in, the way he handled the ball, so I’m sorry”.
Has progress been made compared to Udine? Did you suffer less tonight, did you close it out?
“In Udine we had an ugly second half, we conceded 14 shots on goal and I was not happy at the end of the game. In fact, I was surprised by all this praise that was being heaped on the team. Today was a good game, to say that we could have scored a few more goals. We need to improve our lucidity in the last thirty metres, but the lads did well, those who played, those who went in and also those who didn’t go in. There is a good spirit from everyone, the desire to have an important season in the championship and Coppa Italia.”
We were surprised why Kostic did not start in the first two games. Was it a problem related to the market or the matches you faced? The feeling was that it was related to other problems.
“Absolutely not, there was Cambiaso who had started very well, Filip was a bit physically challenged, the proof is that in Udine Cambiaso had a good game. Today we needed width, Filip is a reliable player, we needed to make crosses and today he did it in the best way. I’m happy, because in any case, playing one game at Juve is easy, playing one after another is difficult. There are some guys who are not used to playing one game after another at Juventus, because they maybe come from other teams, so the expenditure of energy as well as physical, even mental is very high, they need to recover and Cambiaso in this moment needs a little bit to recover, to calm down in playing the game. Tonight he came in and did well, he was a good substitute’.
What kind of captain is Danilo? Have you found a leader in the locker room?
“Definitely he is, because on the level of international experience, of games played, he is the one who has the most along with Alex Sandro. Perin is becoming a locker room leader, Rugani himself who is a player who even if he plays little, after years at Juventus, is a guy who makes himself heard. Then there is a good group that wants to work, wants to do something important this year, knowing that there are three teams that have the ambition to win the Scudetto. It’s not that we don’t have the ambition, we have the desire to try to fight for the Scudetto. It won’t be easy, but above all we have the desire to play for the Champions League again next year.
Can this team close the gap with the other big teams?
“Football is strange and the others play a game every three days, despite having important rosters. We are a young team with less experience, so we have to consider the mistakes that are made. We work on those and we have to be calm, the important thing is to have a solid team on the pitch, we have to grow on match management. Defensive solidity allows you to be better in attack, things are linked. The boys have desire, there’s enthusiasm and we run. As Braida said, it helps. We have to have the desire and enthusiasm to stay close to Milan, Inter and Napoli and already tonight being with them is a satisfaction, as is being above the others. After Udine I heard great praise for Juventus but I was angry… With Bologna, which Juve were rightly criticised for, we conceded two or three shots on goal.”
Chiesa is now a striker for you?
“Federico is finding enthusiasm playing there, he and Vlahovic had a good game as did Milik when he came on and Kean who made himself available. Chiesa must score between 14 and 16 goals in a season, tonight he was tidy on the pitch”.
