Allegri: Higuain goals will come, he just has to continue playing

Juventus beat 10-man Fiorentina in a narrow 1-0 win today, but saw manager Massimiliano Allegri quite displeased at the final whistle with how close the game had been.

Speaking to the media after the game, Allegri spoke about the win which kept the Bianconeri perfect with five wins in five games in the Scudetto race.

“It’s an important victory because we kept a clean sheet, we suffered and in the first half were a bit stubborn, not running any risks.

“The result was crucial and the lads deserve compliments for that. Gonzalo Higuain did well on the Mario Mandzukic goal and his goals will come, he just has to continue playing. There’s no point feeling sorry for yourself, these are moments every striker goes through.”

Allegri had rung up the changes with Stefano Sturaro at right-back and Rodrigo Bentancur playing again in the middle.

“I decided to rest Stephan Lichtsteiner, as we’ve got another game coming up with Torino on Saturday. In order to be competitive, you have to rotate the squad. Sturaro did well, he’s just getting used to the role.

“Bentancur deserves praise. The only reason we didn’t have a shot on target in the first half was because we misplaced the final ball. In these games the important thing is not to run too many risks, we did better in the second half.”

When asked how this side compared to last season’s team, Allegri contended -

“It’s not a stronger or weaker Juventus than last season, it’s simply different. Comparisons are for others to make, we just have to work to ensure we reach March in good shape and in the running for all our objectives.”

Napoli lead Juve on goal difference with both teams on a perfect record, is it already a two-horse race for the Serie A title?

“Napoli play very well, Juve have a different approach. They are antagonists for the title, but there are others too, as I see four or five teams in the running.

“We have to take it one game at a time and try to win a seventh consecutive Scudetto.”