Juventus coach Max Allegri caused some stir with his remarks following his side’s 2-2 draw against Atalanta on Sunday evening.
The Bianconeri are currently enduring a rough patch, so the fans were counting on a morale-raising victory over La Dea.
While the players managed to turn the result upside-down in the second half, they swiftly squandered their lead, settling for a 2-2 draw.
This result saw the club slip to third place in the table behind Milan.
Nevertheless, Allegri chose to see the bright side, noting that his team earned an extra point over Bologna who currently lie in fourth place.
“Our aim is to finish in the top four, and I can’t really fault the guys for anything today,” said the manager in his post-match interview as published by the club’s official website.
“When we raised the tempo a bit the crowd motivated us.
“We’re ten points away from a place in the Champions League, which remains the goal that we’re aiming for this season. Moments like this are useful for the guys’ growth.
“This weekend, we gained a point on Bologna, we kept the distance with Atalanta intact, and we don’t need to look further than that.
“I’m happy with all of the guys today, their commitment and self-sacrifice has never been in question.
“There are always moments in football that need to be faced up to with real courage, and we just need to be more clinical in front of goal and when making that final pass.
“We’re on 58 points now and we know we just need to take a few more steps to reach the Champions League. Now, we’re thinking about Genoa next Sunday, which will be another tough game.”
However, the Livorno native admitted that his team must improve, especially at the back, as it isn’t the first time they have relinquished a lead.
“We played a lot more aggressively in the second half, but there were positives to take from the first as well.
“We need to improve in our defensive work; when we’re ahead, we can concede too easily, it’s happened a few times in recent matches.
“We have to work on situations like the one that led to Atalanta’s second goal and rediscover our solidity.”
