03 November 2016
Massimiliano Allegri felt it was Juve's poor game management in the second half that ultimately cost them the three points against Lyon on Wednesday night.
“We played well in the first half but we sat back too much after the break,” the manager said after the game. “Lyon came into it more as we dropped off.
“We tried to force things too much. We shouldn't have done that because the aim was to come away with the win.
“We wouldn't have had those problems if we'd been a bit tidier at the back. We were controlling the game well but then we conceded the goal and let them have a number of counter-attacks. That's something we must work on.
“We came under too much pressure late on, even after Lyon equalised. And if we'd conceded a second that would have put qualification at serious risk. You can't play at 300 km an hour all the time.”
However, Allegri also pointed to the importance of bearing the bigger picture in mind.
“You don't win the Champions League tonight, nor even in the next game. The decisive nights don't come until March.
“You need to understand what's important at different stages of a season. What matters most at the moment is results. From here on in we have to keep improving our play.
“It's not a bad result. It means we're still in a good position both to qualify from the group and to finish first. Now we need to go and win in Seville.”
Finally, the boss called for a strong finish to a gruelling run of matches when they travel to Chievo on Sunday.
“First of all we have to get a few important players back, then we need to focus on ending this busy month in the best way possible against Chievo.
“What matters most in Europe is that Juve go through to the next round.”
