29 April 2018
You might expect Massimiliano Allegri to praise his team after a sensational last few minutes saw Juve pull off an incredible late turnaround at Inter, but instead he chose to credit the audience and the stage itself.
“It was a wonderful evening of football: the crowd were magnificent and they witnessed a great match,” the boss began after Juve eventually ran out 3-2 winners in Milan.
But far more credit must go to the show's protagonists for turning no points into three thanks to a late flourish.
“We've taken another step forward. We played well in the first half and less well in the second,” the coach said.
Juventus found it hard to impose their game on the night, partly because they were up against a well-drilled Inter outfit and partly because they took the foot off the pedal at times.
Allegri conceded: “When we ease off and knock the ball about we risk dozing off. Once we start moving it around slowly it's hard to get going again. When we got closer to their area they dropped off a little physically, as you'd expect because they played 70 minutes with a man down.”
The boss also commented on Juan Cuadrado's performance after the Colombian was fielded at full-back.
“I was thinking about it last Sunday against Napoli. He got a couple of covering runs wrong but overall he fared well – plus he set up the first goal.”
As well as the three points, the last-gasp victory is good for morale going into the final three games.
“Juve are in good shape,” Allegri concluded. “When you get to this stage it's not about physical fitness anymore but your mental state.”
