30 August 2015
Massimiliano Allegri praised the reaction shown by his 10-man Bianconeri to falling two goals behind in this evening’s 2-1 defeat to Roma, but admits there is still work to be done before his new-look side clicks into top gear.
Second-half goals from Miralem Pjanic and Edin Dzeko left Juventus with a mountain to climb at the Stadio Olimpico and with Patrice Evra handed a late red card, it appeared the hosts were firmly on course for all three points.
But Paulo Dybala’s strike with three minutes to play and Leonardo Bonucci’s header blocked by a phenomenal Wojciech Szczesny save saw the visitors take the Giallorossi right to the wire, giving Allegri some positives to take away from tonight’s game.
Speaking to the media in the capital, he began: “We reacted well, even though we didn’t show a positive attitude at the beginning. It wasn’t a great performance, aside from the final 10 minutes.
"We made too many technical mistakes and in the second half, when a change was there to be made, we conceded from a free-kick. But our strong reaction is what we need to bear in mind when we get everyone back after the international break.”
Two defeats in as many opening games leave Juventus in unchartered territory at this stage of the campaign, but Allegri is confident the team can promptly make up the deficit.
“I’m not worried about our zero points in the league, that’s something that can happen in football. Yes, we have to catch up, but we’ve got all the time and quality to do so. We need to remain calm, clear headed and run through what didn’t work for us.”
Aiding the Bianconeri in their quest to return to the top of the league will be the returns of Claudio Marchisio and Sami Khedira, along with the continued improvement of several new arrivals.
He concluded: “When we come back we’ll have Marchisio ready and Khedira won’t be far off. Morata will be in better shape, while Cuadrado, Mandzukic and Dybala will be more in tune with our our way of working.”
