06 November 2016
Massimiliano Allegri was full of praise for his Juventus side after they bounced back from being held to a draw in the Champions League on Wednesday with a 2-1 win over Chievo.
“We could have won by more goals,” said the Juve coach after the game. “We played well – especially in the second half – against a Chievo team that were defending well. We moved the ball around nicely, choosing our moments to attack and defending well when we needed to.
“We had a bit of a difficult start, with [Andrea] Barzagli having to come off. I took a risk by putting [Leonardo] Bonucci on but he had a great game, as did the whole side. The players reacted well tonight – not that they really even needed to given the season we’re having. It means we’ll enjoy the international break and that’s very important,” explained Allegri.
The Bianconeri coach had warm words for the attacking duo of Gonzalo Higuain and Mario Mandzukic, who opened the scoring at Chievo on Sunday.
“The two up front are working hard for the team, giving everything and performing well. Mario had a good game, as did Higuain, who had two great chances and passed the ball well – that’s vital, given [Paulo] Dybala’s absence.
“There was no problem when he came off – I just needed to give us a bit more width so we could take the ball out of the middle of the pitch. We were all a bit tired, too. Having so many games one after the other really takes it out of you both physically and mentally.”
Allegri also lauded the display of Miralem Pjanic, whose second-half free kick proved to be the winner for Juve.
“I thought Pjanic was fantastic. He was playing on the right side of central midfield, so he had less space to operate in and didn’t use up so much energy – that kept his mind fresher. He’s been staying behind after training to practise free kicks for the last three weeks. The more you practise, the better you get!”
Last but not least, the boss responded to suggestions that it should have been a more convincing win for the Bianconeri at Chievo.
“Regardless of what gets said, we played well today,” insisted Allegri. “Football isn’t an exact science, but an art for people good enough to play. I’m not interested in what people say because the main thing is to get the three points. And that’s what we’re doing.”
