Allegri: Juventus have a lot more work to do

Juventus came away from the Stadio Tardini with a deserved but laboured 2-1 win over Serie A returnees Parma.

After the game manager Massimiliano Allegri talked about the challenge his side had faced -

“It wasn’t easy because Juve have found it tough here at the Tardini on recent visits. Parma are an extremely well-drilled side. They’re dangerous on the counter and they caused problems for us in the first half.

“We sorted ourselves out after the break, kept things tidier defensively and ultimately we deserved to win it, but we came under too much pressure in the first half.

“When we were able to peg the opposition back towards their area we looked a threat and ran few risks ourselves, but when we played the ball out quickly we risked getting caught on the break ourselves. We needed to be a bit more patient in our build-up play.”

He commended his side, who won with goals from Mario Mandzukic and Blaise Matuidi -

“The lads did very well. Parma is a difficult place to play and we’d only won one of our last five visits.

“Parma are fighting to secure safety, are very organised and dangerous on the counter, but they ran out of steam towards the end. It’s a deserved victory, but we have a lot more work to do.

“We should’ve been more patient and not so hasty, as it played into Parma’s hands in the first half.”

All eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo who once again failed to score despite having now registered 23 shots without a goal. Last season it took him 28 shots before he broke the duck to end up with 26 goals in La Liga action.

“Italian football presents different problems and it takes time. He’s not getting the rub of the green at the moment either – the ball is not bouncing right for him or he’s shooting just off target.

“We’ll all be fresher after the break and that’s when the real season starts.”

About some other performances on the day -

“Federico Bernardeschi has come on loads physically, technically and mentally too.

“Mario Mandzukic works really hard for the team. I didn’t expect him to be in this condition after the World Cup but I’m really happy for him and for the team.”