Yesterday, the Allianz Stadium hosted a match which wasn’t like any other. 48 hours after receiving a 15-point deduction, Juventus had to pull their strength and take the field in a tough test against Atalanta.
Luckily for the viewers, this turned out to be one of the best matches of the Serie A campaign thus far, if not the ultimate best. The encounter ended in a 3-3 draw following back-and-forth action.
At the end of the day, Massimiliano Allegri could only congratulate his players who showed integrity and pride despite having some of the points that they collected taken away.
The manager adds that Juventus have virtually gained 40 points during the first half of the season – counting the two points dropped due to a last-minute scandalous VAR decision against Salernitana.
He believes that Champions League qualification requires around 70 points, which remains a complicated task at the moment, to say the least.
“First of all, let’s assess the first half of the season,” said Allegri in his post-match interview as reported by the club’s official website.
“Unfortunately, we made mistakes in the Champions League and have racked up 38 points in the league, which would also be more if it hadn’t been for a VAR mistake. Aside from Napoli, that’s more than anyone else. That’s what we need to keep doing.
“The players turned in a very good display tonight against a strong and physical Atalanta side. After two days in which there’s been a lot of pressure on us, it wasn’t easy to focus. The players have taken responsibility while showing their serious approach and desire to continue what we started at the beginning of the year.
“The game became difficult because we made mistakes for all three goals. We’ve still won eight of our last ten matches, drawing one and losing one, so we’ll keep working hard and that goes for the Europa League and Coppa Italia as well.
“I have to congratulate the players because going from second or third to suddenly being tenth is tough to take. Psychologically, it’s as if what we’ve done has been taken away from us, but we’re going to keep showing the same level of pride.
“I’m pleased with the reaction and performance. Unfortunately, we were made to pay for our mistakes, but we did well to bounce back when we were behind.
“We played with physicality. The mistakes could’ve taken the wind out of our sail and at 3-2, they could’ve gone 5-2 up if we’d given in mentally, but we were well organised, stayed in the game and made the most of Danilo’s chance. He’s an extraordinary player who’s having a wonderful season.
“The points tally to get into the Champions League could be around 70 or 71, but it’ll be tough. We need to keep working calmly. We have a week to replenish our energy levels, then we have Monza, the Coppa Italia and the Europa League. It’s hard to think right now about what we can achieve.”
