Juventus didn’t really hit top gear today, but came away from the nation’s capital with a 1-0 win over Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico thanks to a Sami Khedira goal.
After the game, manager Massimiliano Allegri spoke happily of midfielder Sami Khedira who scored his second goal of the season in just the second game of the campaign -
“Great players have to feel good. Like all the others in the team he is fantastic and can manage a situation even when it isn’t going well.”
Allegri was frustrated by his side’s performance as they struggled to penetrate Lazio’s backline -
“We have our path to follow. It was so hot today and we made a lot of mistakes in the first half. After the break we did well, but I remember the first six touches from Kwadwo Asamoah, for example, were all bad.
“In the second, we did well, though we will improve as we are only on the second week of the season. We are doing a bit better than at this time last year though."
When asked if this was the strongest Bianconeri squad he had ever had, he replied somewhat diplomatically -
“It’s different from the others. We introduced many new players compared to last year. It would be a mistake to seek players similar to the ones we’ve already got.”
With French midfielder Blaise Matuidi off the market, who does Allegri want in the last few days of the summer mercato?
“I told the club to sign good players, then I’ll figure out a way to use them.”