Allegri: Juventus need to improve, be more clinical

Juventus beat Olympiacos 2-0 away to book their spot in the Champions League knockout rounds. After the game, manager Massimiliano Allegri was frustrated with the number of chances his side gave up in the second half.

“We got a lot wrong in the second half, so I was angry, and it’s always dangerous in Europe. On a corner there was a flick-on, Wojciech Szczesny had a great save and we could’ve been 1-1 at the break.

“It was like a Final, we needed the win so we wouldn’t have to wait for the result in Barcelona. We need to improve and be more clinical.

“We misplaced a few too many passes in the second half and risked dangerous situations. You have to understand the moment of that match, not concede and wait for it to pass. We were in a similar situation against Napoli, as we were too static and you can’t control the game when you are static.

“We need to work on not making so many technical errors. When you are in the lead and the pressure builds, naturally it’s a different type of game to the start. It’s a phase of the match we need to work better in and focus on not making mistakes.

“When you realize the game is there to be finished off, you have to go for the jugular. A game can change at any moment on a set play, so we can’t leave it open.”

Paulo Dybala has been struggling lately -

“At the moment, things aren’t going the right way for Dybala, but it happened at this stage last season too. Paulo needs to relax and keep doing the simple things, training hard and finding the right fitness levels.”

Allegri also had a message for some of the Bianconeri who have been critical of Juve’s losses in Champions League finals -

“Juventus fans have this negativity in their minds. It’s not easy to reach a Champions League Final. They always say we lost two Finals, not that we reached two Finals in three years. I want them to be more positive.”