21 October 2015
Massimiliano Allegri bemoaned the Bianconeri’s inability to score for a second successive match after watching his side held to a goalless draw by Borussia Monchengladbach at Juventus Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The stalemate closely resembled Sunday’s 0-0 at the San Siro against Inter, and for the first time in this year’s Champions League campaign the hosts lacked the necessary composure in the final third to trouble their opponents.
While the visitors risked having Alvaro Dominguez sent off towards the end of the first period, Allegri would not be drawn away from the fact that his team needed to put in a better display themselves in order to take away all three points from tonight’s encounter.
He began: “We created very few clear-cut chances tonight, but there were many opportunities to cause Borussia problems and we did not take them for a variety of reasons, from bad decisions to poor technique, while we were also too selfish on occasions.
“It’s true that a red card could have changed the game, but the onus was on us to shape our own destiny by playing better from a technical standpoint and providing a final killer ball. The same things happened in Milan and we didn’t score there either.”
The Tuscan tactician made a number of changes during the second half in a bid to find an elusive opening, bringing on Roberto Pereyra for Juan Cuadrado, while waiting until the 81st minute before replacing Alvaro Morata with Paulo Dybala.
On the reasons behind his substitutions and their timings, Allegri explained: “Cuadrado has played a lot recently and wasn’t quite as lively as usual. I put on Pereyra to create problems for them between the lines.
“Against Borussia we needed a more physical frontline, hence why Morata and Mario Mandzukic both started. Dybala did a few things quite well though. He has a lot of quality but needs time to develop. He’ll grow into a top player, but in a role behind the centre-forward.”
