Allegri still sees room for improvement

MILAN (Reuters) - Ever the perfectionist, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri still sees room for improvement in his side even after they taught Barcelona a lesson in how to play a two-leg European tie.

Allegri still sees room for improvement

(Reuters)





The Serie A champions tore into Barcelona to win the home league 3-0 one week ago, then gave a defensive masterclass, comfortably containing Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, as they held out for a 0-0 draw in the return on Wednesday.

Allegri, however, said that Juventus could have made life easier for themselves if they had taken advantage of the space Barcelona offered them as the game wore on.

Too often, the Serie A leaders got themselves into good attacking positions only to be let down by a poor final pass.

"Where do we need to improve? In the way we used possession of the ball, especially in the second half," Allegri told reporters.

"They allowed space and we were not very good at exploiting that, even though it should be said that tiredness and defensive energy can make you less lucid when you have the chance to attack."

In general, however, Allegri was not in the mood for nitpicking.

"We should have been calmer and sharper when spreading their play, but it’s not easy to do that here," he added.

He felt that his team, who are unbeaten in the competition and have conceded only twice, could have played all night without letting in a goal and that "only a great Juventus could have qualified against Barcelona."

With an eight-point lead in Serie A and a place in the Coppa Italia final guaranteed, Juventus are still on course for a treble.

That meant there would be no time for celebrations after Wednesday's game - something which Allegri did not even have to spell out to his players.

"It’s the decisive moment of the campaign and these lads have a great sense of duty and professionalism," said Allegri. "We're just having dinner and nothing more. What I like about this team is that there is no need for me to tell them that."

He added: “I am happy with what the lads are doing but the key is not to maintain current form but instead try to improve it."





(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Andrew Heavens)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world