On Sunday, Juventus exacted revenge on Empoli with a convincing 2-0 win at the Carlo Castellani Stadium.
Danilo scored the opener in the first half and Federico Chiesa secured the result with a late strike.
After the match, Max Allegri was pleased to have overcome this Tuscan test and explained some of his tactical choices, including the change of personnel on the wings.
“Today we did well against an annoying Empoli. We hardly suffered at the back,” said the Juventus manager in his post-match interview via Calciomercato.
“We must be more calm in the final third and score more goals. Things will improve during the season.
“Why did I start with McKennie and Kostic? Weah was a bit tired. Italy is very demanding from a tactical point of view and we have been working hard.
“He can also do well from the bench. Today we needed players who widened the pitch and Filip knows how to do so.”
Allegri was happy to see Chiesa’s name on the scoresheet. He’s also satisfied with Dusan Vlahovic despite missing a penalty.
“I’m happy for Federico who is growing and is now scoring goals. I’m sorry for Dusan who missed the penalty.
“Vlahovic did well technically even without scoring goals. Milik also did great when coming in. We’ll need all four strikers during the season.”
The Livorno native also praised Manuel Locatelli who pulled off an improved display following a disappointing outing against Bologna.
“Locatelli played a good game, maintaining order and serenity. Against Bologna, we did badly at the start of the match, but better in the second half.
“We showed improvement today. We need to be in a better physical condition which we believe can reach between October and November.”
The Juventus coach once again rues the lack of Champions League football this term. He also names Milan, Inter and Napoli as clubs who are more equipped to win the Scudetto title.
“No one likes staying out of the Champions League for a year, but we can’t do anything about it. We finished third last season.
“There are better-equipped teams like Inter, Napoli and Milan who have the objective of winning the scudetto.
“We must be good at remaining close to them because in football you never know and in three months we could be saying different things.
“If you want to consider us Scudetto favorites, feel free to do so. But for us, the satisfaction is already being there, just two points from the top of the standings.”
