Juventus Club Focus: Allegri prioritising Champions League over Serie A

Date: 16th September 2015 at 7:00pm
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“My advice to [Massimiliano] Allegri is to stop thinking about last season’s successes,” were the wise words from Juventus sporting director Giuseppe Marotta,as he piled the pressure on the Juventus coach after a disappointing 1-1 draw to Chievo.

Alvaro Morata Juve

It would appear, though, that Allegri has completely ignored that threat, and, thankfully in his eyes, it has paid dividends.

They faced Manchester City in a tricky Champions League tie on Tuesday night at the Etihad Stadium, as goals from Mario Mandzukic and Alvaro Morata cancelled out a controversial Giorgio Chiellini opener.

This victory may have come as a shock, but it wasn’t that much of a big surprise at all.

La Vecchia Signora have been the only team challenging for the title in Serie A recently, topping the table for last two seasons with a points difference of 17 over runners-up Roma.

Yes, Juventus sit on just one point so far this term, but Allegri has already planned ahead.

They haven’t won the Champions League in 19 years and captain Gianluigi Buffon is yet to lift the trophy, so it does seem to be the main target for them this season.

Last year, Serie A affected their first few games in the tournament, as the Bianconeri lost twice in their opening three group stage matches, yet still succeeded in getting out of the group and making it all the way to the final.

So, this season, will it be the other way round?

Juventus-dejected
Juventus know that they are huge favourites for the league title, despite their current league form.

AC Milan are still under construction, Inter have only just scraped a 100 per cent record and Roma have looked unconvincing overall.

Out of that 17-point lead of recent years, the Bianconeri have dropped eight points so far this term, while claiming all three in the most difficult fixture in their Champions League group.

Allegri’s moves at the Etihad prove this plan, too.

At 2-1 down, City brought on in-form striker Sergio Aguero with about 10 minutes to go and it was hoped he would get the goals they needed to turn the scoreline around.

The immediate response from the Italian coach was to replace goal scorer Alvaro Morata with defender Andrea Barzagli and play with five at the back.

Had they gone in pursuit of another goal, then the effect from the summer transfer market probably would have come into play.

Massimiliano Allegri JuventusCarlos Tevez had the pace to attack the opposing goal before tracking back to help in defence, but the Juventus strike force are lacking that certain energy currently.

Adding another defender into the mix, therefore, removes that risk of having too many men up front and conceding an equaliser at the other.

Juve’s determination to shut up shop was obvious when Juan Cuadrado received an earful for not running the ball into the corner late on.

Allegri’s passion towards the end of the game showed how much the victory meant to him, and he could breathe a sigh of relief as the Italians bagged all three points.

His cautious strategy is a possible sign that this season Juventus have the biggest chance yet to prove themselves gainst the big boys of European football, while still maintaining one eye on Serie A.

 

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