21 December 2021
Juventus rounded off 2021 with a 2-0 victory against Cagliari with Moise Kean and Federico Bernardeschi getting on the scoresheet. The midfielder, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and coach Max Allegri took stock after the contest.
MAX ALLEGRI
“[Alvaro] Morata struggled somewhat when the opposition shut up shop. That’s why I moved Kean into the centre-forward position, so he could attack the penalty box more and Morata also benefited from that. In terms of our attributes, we don’t have that many goals in midfield, but the most likely goalscorers are [Weston] McKennie and [Adrien] Rabiot. In certain situations, Adrien could’ve hurt them more. We need to work harder to make the most of certain moves.
“I asked the players to take plenty of long-range shots tonight. Bernardeschi did so with real venom and got his goal. We went on a good run after the first three games. We know January will be an intense month. I’d be happy to reach the end of February with this gap to the top four, as that’ll mean we’ve got through the clashes with direct rivals and we’ll then have a more favourable schedule ahead of us. We’ll keep working hard.”
WOJCIECH SZCZESNY
“We’ve been working hard so far, but there’s still so much to improve both defensively and in attack. When we go 1-0 up, we sometimes end up dropping too deep and that’s not good over the long term. We have to ensure we don’t let our energy or focus drop at certain stages of the game. We’ve picked up three important points tonight.”
FEDERICO BERNARDESCHI
“I hadn’t scored in such a long time and I was pleased to get back among the goals. I thoroughly enjoyed that moment. I’m happy with the result and the team performance. It’s a great way to end the year. Every game is different from the previous one. If I have to make an extra run for the team, I do so without any qualms.
“What counts is finding a team understanding and the right balance. We’re on track in that regard. When you face difficulties, your weaknesses come to the fore and strengths tend to get forgotten. At the start, when we faced difficult moments, we were starting out as a team, but not there yet. We’ve gradually built a fully fledged team over time and I think that in the last month and a half, we’ve shown that desire to make sacrifices and enjoy our football. That’s important at a top club. We all have to give that something extra because Juventus’s history shows us that major achievements are clinched through making sacrifices, being humble and the desire to work hard.”
