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Allegri: ‘Important win, pressure mounts without results’
Juventus secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Frosinone in Serie A, and manager Massimiliano Allegri addressed the win and the team’s current situation in a post-match interview with Sky Sport.
On the performance:
“A good second half performance,” Allegri started.
“We started well but conceded two goals. We knew about their runs behind the defense, Kostic didn’t behave like a defender, and in the box, we were five and could have defended better. On the second goal, we should have stopped the play because Rabiot wasn’t feeling well. We created many chances in the second half and were more clinical. We could have scored earlier, but Rugani scored a beautiful goal.”
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On Federico Chiesa’s position:
“He started as a second striker, but we were struggling, so I moved him wide,” explained Allegri.
“Federico is coming off a period with less training, but he’s an important player. Yildiz has different features. Federico feels more comfortable on the wing, but he remains out of top form. He needs to stay calm.”
On the defense:
“Before conceding the goals, I felt we were struggling to deal with their runs behind our defense,” Allegri admitted.
“We need to work on solidity again, as today’s two goals exemplify that. We need to get back to work. But today, winning was crucial. It’s an important result, because at Juve, pressure mounts without results. This team is doing good things, and today presented another crucial test for playing under pressure.”
On the season’s end:
“We need to focus on the present,” Allegri stressed.
“The club thinks about the future. We’ve put Bologna nine points behind with nine games remaining, but there are still many points and games to play. We won’t fall into limbo because finishing second would be very important. It would represent growth that nobody expected at the beginning of the season. Finishing second would be crucial. Then there’s the Coppa Italia semi-final, and we need to be in good shape. Finally, we needed to win to break the habit of not winning.”
On McKennie and Rabiot:
“McKennie has a dislocated shoulder; we’ll see,” Allegri concluded. “It happens to him sometimes. Rabiot has a toe contusion; we’ll see.”