30 November 2014
Massimiliano Allegri credited his team’s never say die attitude after a combative Derby della Mole was resolved right at the last second through Andrea Pirlo’s moment of genius.
In spite of going down to 10 men after Stephan Lichtsteiner was shown the red card in the closing stages of the game, Allegri’s men continued to show ambition and saw their persistence rewarded when Pirlo popped up with a goal worthy of winning any game on 93 minutes.
Speaking to the media after the match, the Tuscan tactician began: “Credit to the lads, they never stopped believing. It became a difficult game after their equaliser and perhaps a draw would have been a fairer outcome, but we deserved to win against Genoa and this makes up for that result.”
It was a tale of two halves for the Bianconeri tonight, with a decent opening 45 minutes followed by a less assured performance after the restart.
Allegri acknowledged the difficulties suffered by his side following the break and expressed his disappointment at the nature of the goal conceded.
“We played a decent first half. It was a bit of a ‘freak’ goal to concede because it’s rare to see someone run 70 metres with the ball at his feet and then try his luck. We should have dealt with that situation a lot better. We really struggled in the second half, with Torino causing us difficulties on the counter.”
The manager’s final thoughts were reserved for matchwinner Pirlo, a man he says he has the utmost faith in to produce the goods when required. He concluded: “I’ve never doubted his quality. He was sidelined for 45 days and I put him back in straightaway for an important game like Roma.”
