Massimiliano Allegri has blamed Juventus’ lack of consistency following Saturday’s lackluster 1-1 draw at newly-promoted Venezia. Problems continue to mount on the record-time Italian champions as they face the prospect of falling nine points behind the coveted top-four places.
If Atalanta win at Hellas Verona on Sunday, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side could extend their lead over sixth-placed Juventus to beyond touching distances. The Bianconeri headed to Venezia as warm favorites to pick up a much-needed victory, having won four of their five Serie A matches beforehand without conceding.
Alvaro Morata broke the deadlock just beyond the half-hour mark to hand his side a slender one-goal lead at half-time. But despite being in front, Allegri’s side looked a bit rusty on the pitch, allowing Venezia much room in between the lines. Though the hosts failed to capitalize on several decent chances in the first half, things turned around after the break.
Mattia Aramu restored parity only ten minutes into the second half with a thunderous first-time effort from the edge of the box. Juventus had plenty of time to regain the lead and potentially walk away with all three points. However, another poor performance saw them register an underwhelming draw at the Stadio Pierluigi Penzo.
It’s hard to say Juventus deserved more than they’ve got, especially considering they attempted a single shot on target in the second 45 minutes. Allegri believes his team shot themselves in the foot in the opening stage of the second half and failed to get back on the rails in the remainder of the game.
“It was a good first half, we created chances, but then had this 10-15-minute blackout before the Venezia goal. The same thing happened in Salerno, we were lucky then not to concede as they hit the post, so it’s something we clearly need to work on,” he said in the post-match interview, as relayed by TUTTOmercatoWEB.
“We were under pressure, couldn’t play the ball to feet anymore, so we should’ve had patience with one or two balls over the top to the strikers, take some of the pressure off and let the moment pass, but we didn’t do that.
“We had to attack the space, force them into fouls and more yellow cards, but we threw away two points against a good Venezia. We have players without a great deal of experience, as it was practically Kaio Jorge’s first ‘start’ and others too. The whole team was a bit sluggish after the restart.
“We can’t seem to realize when it’s the time to play pretty and those 10-15 minutes we ought to play ugly, grit our teeth and push through.“