Allegri: Juventus know what our limitations are

It’s no surprise that if Juventus were finally going to get back to winning ways, it would be in prime Allegriball manner, with minimal possession playing counterattacking football and relying on set pieces for goals.

Well, Fiorentina became the latest side to come to the Juventus Stadium this season and get beaten that way in a 1-0 win for Massimiliano Allegri’s side.

Speaking after the game, the coach talked about the effort his side were putting in.

“We work every day to improve. There are also moments psychologically, as we had not won in Serie A for a while. We ran no risks in the first half, had three goals disallowed for offside by a matter of centimetres, then also created chances in the second.

“It’s true that we risked conceding the equaliser late on after a technical error, but I would not reproach the lads for anything.

“They are having a good season, we are doing everything we can to get as many points as possible. We kept a second consecutive clean sheet and victory, so that is important progress.”

What did he have to say regarding the observation that the Bianconeri simply cannot put in a full game’s effort.

“In football there are two teams, with two different jerseys, we are the Bianconeri, they are the Viola. We want to keep the ball for 90 minutes, have 30 shots on goal, but I don’t think anyone can do that even in their dreams.

“We know what our limitations are. At this stage of the season, the most important thing is the result. I don’t see many teams who avoid allowing a single shot on target, we do our best, but the lads are doing well.”

The game statistics were not flattering for Juventus, with just 227 passes and 25% possession, compared to the Viola’s 675 passes and 75% on the ball.

“We try to play in the opposition half for 90 minutes, but there are opponents too. The idea is to play with a high press, push the other team into their own half and pass it more cleanly.

“We should’ve been 2-0 up at half-time, we didn’t get the second goal, inevitably Fiorentina would come out fighting. We had a few opportunities on the counter-attack and should’ve done better.”

Allegri’s future continues to be in doubt with rumours that Bologna’s Thiago Motta being lined up to replace him.

“We had 62 points, those are evidently what we deserve. We made mistakes in a crucial period of the season, but Juventus are in a process with many young players. It’s one thing to deal with 30-year-old players, another with 18-year-olds. That’s fairly obvious, I don’t see why I should even need to point it out.

“These are extraordinary lads, we have the objective of Champions League qualification and are on track. Perhaps seeing how the season went, we had too many points early in the season and too few in the second stage.”

What did Allegri say to Federico Chiesa when he came off after an hour?

“Federico was not at full strength today, he had a thigh issue, but he worked really well.”