Massimiliano Allegri spoke to DAZN after Juventus-Milan ended 0-0. These are his words:
On Christian Pulisic’s penalty:
“I didn’t even see how he took it… Penalties are missed. We had a balanced first half, they were good at closing spaces, and our ball circulation was very slow, but above all, our midfielders didn’t attack the defensive line enough. In the second half we grew physically, we had several chances, even though they had the first one with a great save by Maignan. Then, at the decisive moment, when we had Juventus under control, we could have been more aggressive in scoring. The positive is not conceding a goal and extending our positive streak. The negative is that in certain moments you need to be more ruthless: at that point, the match should have been won.”
On Rafael Leao’s condition:
“This was his first week of work, he was out for 45 days. Last Sunday I had to bring him in out of necessity, after Estupinan’s red card and Pulisic’s substitution, so I didn’t waste a change, and he didn’t perform badly. He then worked well during the week and needs to regain his condition. It’s important he recovers quickly because we need him a lot, we need Nkunku. They are technical players who can decide matches.”
On playing Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic, and Christopher Nkunku together:
“The important thing is that everyone is in good condition. Nkunku arrived late, on August 30. Leao was out for 45 days, so we need some patience. Now there are international breaks, and when they return we will see. The more technical players we have, the better. Substitutions also become important, because in the last half hour, players like Leao or Nkunku entering can change the game.”
On Rafael Leao’s missed goals, Allegri commented:
“It’s not a new position for him; if I’m not wrong, he played as a striker at Lille as a young player. The movement he made on Modric’s ball was striker-like, a wonderful run. But when someone like him gets there, he has to score on two chances. His technical skills are clear, just look at the play where he shoots from midfield—it’s genius-level. He needs to make the leap where he understands he must be decisive because it’s important for the team.”
On returning to the Allianz stadium:
“It was emotional, I saw many people I worked with who supported me during eight years at Juventus, with whom we celebrated and cried, because sometimes we lost. It was emotional and fun. I can only thank them, and the fans too. I’m happy to be back. Now I’m with Milan, and we have a lot to do here. We take the point tonight, we didn’t concede, but we could have done some things better. We must understand the moments of the match. When there’s a moment to attack the opponent, you have to attack.”
Allegri on Santiago Gimenez:
“Gimenez played a good match, especially on the penalty play, he moved well, and in a couple of other situations. He works hard for the team, which is very important. But at that moment I thought of bringing in fresh players with high technical quality. Even Pulisic, despite the penalty miss, played an extraordinary match.”
