17 December 2015
After watching the Bianconeri record their greatest margin of victory of the season, Massimiliano Allegri praised the way his men swatted aside Torino at Juventus Stadium to reach the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
After taking a one-goal lead into the interval, the hosts turned on the style with a further three strikes in the second period, capitalising on Cristian Molinaro’s 49th minute dismissal.
Speaking to the media, the Tuscan tactician began: “The team played very well, especially in the second half, when we made the most of our numerical advantage.
“Today we came up against a Torino outfit that is enjoying a good run themselves and had fresher legs than us, but we used the ball extremely well and that helped us a great deal.
“We still need to improve technically and in terms of weighting our passes, knowing when to slow down and accelerate our manoeuvres.”
Daniele Rugani’s assured display in defence in his very first start since arriving in the summer was another reason for Allegri to be pleased with a good night’s work.
Commenting on the 21-year-old’s performance, his manager said: “To enter the fray after a long period without playing in a match of great importance like the derby is no mean feat, but he acquitted himself brilliantly.”
Satisfied with the way his side signed off the calendar year at Juventus Stadium with a win that sees the Bianconeri still competing for silverware on multiple fronts, Allegri warned against taking lowly Carpi at all lightly in their final fixture of 2015 next Sunday.
“It’s important that we’re in the quarter-finals and enter 2016 fighting strongly in all three competitions. That said, we’ve another match this weekend that won’t be easy and we need to be on top of our game.
“Carpi are not to be underestimated. It will be a tricky encounter. We’re playing at 12:30 which is a strange time to kick off and it’s never easy winning away from home in Serie A.”
