05 November 2014
Massimiliano Allegri says the Bianconeri outfit fully merited their 3-2 victory over Olympiacos at Juventus Stadium this evening.
The boss felt his troops were the better side on the overall balance of play and was happy with the way they went about their task against a testing opponent.
Speaking to Sky in his post-match interview, the 47-year-old began: “The lads deserved this victory: we created plenty of chances and conceded two goals from dead-ball situations after committing errors, but winning was the most important thing.”
Choosing to go with a 4-3-1-2 formation in this evening’s encounter with the Greek champions, Allegri stated that the system he had chosen was not completely alien to his players.
“Tonight’s system was worked on at the start of the season, but I didn’t want to overhaul a tried and trusted formation in a short space of time so kept the one they were familiar with, offering adjustments here and there.
“I put out a side that I thought would keep possession and look to string moves together, and I believe that the players had a good game on a technical level. We have created plenty of goalscoring opportunities in these last two games.”
Another key decision to make prior to tonight’s game was the inclusion of either Alvaro Morata or Fernando Llorente as Carlos Tevez’s partner up top, with the former ultimately getting the nod.
And Allegri says that both players’ differing characteristics play into the strengths of the diminutive Argentine.
“They have different attributes: Morata attacks from deep and drives forward compared to Llorente who acted as a target man for Tevez. Carlitos can play with everyone, and understands where to go and seek out pockets of space.”
With two games against Age Hareide’s Malmo and Diego Simeone’s Atletico still to come in Europe’s elite competition, the boss is confident his men have what it takes to book their place in the knockout stages.
He concluded: “We’re in a good position and still in the hunt to finish first. Now let’s turn our attentions to Parma and then we’ll begin preparations for the game with Malmo.”
