Massimiliano Allegri spoke to DAZN after tonight’s defeat against Napoli.
A balanced match, decided by a single moment
“It was a match with very few chances, decided by one incident… whoever took advantage of it would win. They did well in that situation, and we were actually set up defensively. We had situations where we needed to shoot more quickly, because once the opposition closes you down, they don’t let you get a shot away.”
Why did you choose Fullkrug and Nkunku? Allegri said:
“First of all, they both played well. Nkunku had two good chances, worked very hard for the team, and had a solid technical performance. In the first half, a player like him has to score, or at least hit the target. The same in the second half. But overall, they did well, just as the whole team did. Football is made up of these moments where we fell short. It was a tight game. In the first half we conceded Spinazzola’s shot, and then a counterattack after we lost the ball in midfield. The same in the second half, two or three counterattacks… all from transitions. We knew they are dangerous on the break, and at times we allowed them to exploit that.”
Do you regret any counterattacks that didn’t come off?
“I think in the first half we recovered the ball three or four times in the opposition’s half, but we made poor decisions and lacked precision. Football is like that… in the final 20 metres, if you make the right choices and are precise, it becomes easier to score. We need to improve and stay calm, because we still have a few wins to secure in order to reach our objective — the Champions League.”
Is the 4-3-3 only an in-game option?
“It’s a solution we could also use from the start, but it depends on fitness levels. Pulisic only returned on Friday, Leão had been out for 12 days and only trained lightly twice. Starting with three forwards… maybe I could have tried to open up the game earlier, perhaps around the 70th minute, but I preferred to wait a bit longer. However, the wide players need to be in good condition. Unfortunately, Rafa started the season very well but then had a series of injuries that held him back, and he’s only had limited training. It’s important he regains full fitness because we need everyone, we’re in the final phase of the season.”
What changes now that you’re third instead of second?
“I think the title race is effectively over for us, Inter are nine points ahead. Of course, anything can happen in football, but Napoli are also ahead. We take it one match at a time, starting with Udinese. We need to recover our energy. Saturday will be a difficult match; Udinese are dangerous away from home. We must stay calm because, for now, we are within our objective. Qualification for the Champions League won’t be decided on Saturday alone. We need to collect a certain number of points, we have a small advantage, and we must try to maintain it by winning matches.”
