Coach Allegri given just two points in four games: “I'm really angry”
After a historically bad start to the season, the mood at Juventus Turin is finally in the basement. “That's not how you win a title,” complained coach Massimiliano Allegri after the 1-1 (1-0) win in the top Serie A game against AC Milan. The Italian record champions only scored two points in their first four league games, the last time that happened to the “Bianconeri” 60 years ago and only three times in their club history.
“I'm really angry,” said coach Allegri, who should have pushed Juve back to the top after the botched year under newcomer Andrea Pirlo. Now Turin are eight points behind arch rivals Milan and champions Inter Milan. “Juve, you are so far down,” headlined the Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday. Turin is even on a relegation zone.
After the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the “old lady” continues to search for the winning mentality that made her virtually unbeatable in Italy over the past decade. Striker Paulo Dybala, who was chosen to bring success in the post-Ronaldo era, warned against scare tactics. “In the difficult moments you have no choice but to stick together as a team,” wrote the Argentine on Instagram. “We have done it in the past and we will do it again.”
For this, the defensive around the European champions Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci must be significantly better. The Turin team have been waiting for a clean sheet for 18 games – that has not happened to any other club in Europe's top leagues during this period, as the Gazzetta dello Sport calculated. “You simply can't allow anything in games like this,” alleged Allegri. Alvaro Morata gave Juve an early lead against Milan, but Ante Rebic equalized in the closing stages.
