Allegri: “A good response from the team”

Massimiliano Allegri said before Sunday’s game that he was confident he would see a good performance from his players against Milan. The Bianconeri duly delivered, with a precious and deserved 2-0 victory at the San Siro. Speaking after the match, the Juve coach said: “Losing against Manchester United has done us good and tonight it was a good response from the team. “We were a bit shell-shocked by the result on Wednesday but the boys went on the attack straight away in this game. We gave away a penalty after a counter attack, which was the only time Alex Sandro and [Blaise] Matuidi both pushed up, but [Wojciech] Szczesny did really well to save. “This game is a big step forward in the league because we’ve created a nine-point gap with Inter and we’re still six points clear of Napoli.”

This Juventus side is racking up some impressive numbers, with the team picking up 34 points in their first 12 matches - a record since Serie A was unified on a national level. The Bianconeri have now won 13 away games in 2018, more than any other team in the top five European leagues. The Bianconeri are also unbeaten in their last 16 league matches, having picked up 14 wins and two draws. Even so, there is a belief that this team can get even better. Allegri continued: “In the first half, we perhaps could have organised ourselves better in possession. In the second we did better and we were ruthless from a defensive point of view. “We need to shoot more on goal from outside the box, so as to put more pressure on our opponents. When we play with [Paulo] Dybala, [Mario] Mandzukic and [Cristiano] Ronaldo we’re less structured in attack, but it gives the opposition fewer reference points. “With the height in the side, we had more joy from balls forward and crosses. We’ve got players that are better at attacking the far post, rather than the near post, and that was something we did well tonight. Earlier in the season we were hitting our crosses low. “Leonardo Bonucci was on the bench tonight because he needs to rest – he’s played a lot of football.”