Allegri: Juventus were solid but not great

Massimiliano Allegri admitted Juventus did not put in their best performance of the season but were still solid in Saturday’s 1-0 win over AC Milan.

Paulo Dybala scored the only goal of the game as title holders Juventus continue their climb up the Serie A table.

But Allegri knows Juve were not at their best against visitors Milan. 

“It was a very complicated match because Milan defended well and caused us problems. At the same time, we should’ve moved the ball better between the lines and it was not a good performance, but a solid one,” he told Mediaset Premium and Sky Sports Italia.

“The important thing was to win and go ahead of Milan in the Serie A table. Hopefully we’ll get a good result on Wednesday against Manchester City too.

“We allowed nothing except for that Alessio Cerci shot in stoppages. We’ve got to improve in terms of decision-making and not rushing the final ball.

“At least we are finding some consistency in results and that is important. It’s our second clean sheet at home after Atalanta. It might not have been a good game, but it was important to be solid.

“Unfortunately I had to make two substitutions through injury, as Patrice Evra and Hernanes needed to come off. The intention was to play with a trequartista, though Hernanes got a little bottle-necked in the middle.

“Claudio Marchisio is getting back to the player we all knew. Stefano Sturaro and Mario Mandzukic did well. Paul Pogba did very well and helped set up the goal, but after that was playing to the crowd a bit too much.”

Allegri also praised goal-scorer Dybala and said the 22-year-old Argentina international is constantly improving. 

“I was always convinced of his quality, but it’s normal he needed time to settle. Dybala is growing, he has important abilities and did very well between the lines,” he said.

“He works hard too and in time he’ll become a great support striker. He’s changing physically too and you can see the difference in his legs.”