24 September 2017
Massimiliano Allegri was clearly happy not just with the result, as Juventus put four unanswered goals past city rivals Torino, but also with the manner in which his players carried out the job.
“The lads did great today and what's even more important is that we played really well when it was still 11 v 11,” the manager declared after the final whistle at Allianz Stadium.
“Technically we were excellent and we moved the ball around quickly too. We're starting to get into our stride.”
That sounds like a warning to the rest of Serie A, yet as always the boss wasn't entirely satisfied.
“We gave away two or three free kicks that we could have avoided and we must learn to play faster at certain stages of the game. If you keep hold of the ball for too long in matches like this, you end up on the receiving end of a crunching challenge and you can get injured.”
The coach singled out several players for their performances on the night.
“I'm pleased with how lots of the guys played, from [Mario] Mandzukic – who always puts in a tremendous shift – to [Stephan] Lichtsteiner and [Medhi] Benatia. Douglas Costa and [Rodrigo] Bentancur are coming along really well too.
“[Miralem] Pjanic played very well. Sometimes I get angry with him because I know he's got the ability to take the reins of the team.”
And Paulo Dybala was in fine fettle once again.
“Paulo is doing brilliantly at the moment but over the course of the season our other forwards like [Federico] Bernardeschi and [Gonzalo] Higuain will weigh in with their share of goals. Gonzalo did well today when he came on.”
It may be a rosy start to Serie A for Juve but Allegri is refusing to get carried away at this early stage.
“It's a long season and it won't be easy to finish the campaign on top, especially after enjoying so many years of success.
“We also have the Champions League to think about: now we must get our first three points on the board in Europe.”
