Allegri defends style of football again after Turin derby draw

Massimiliano Allegri has defended his style of football again after Juventus were held 1-1 at home by Torino in the Turin derby.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s header six minutes from time cancelled out Sasa Lukic’s opener at Juventus Stadium, as the Serie A champions continued a run of one win in six matches through all competitions.

Allegri was speaking to Sky Sport Italia for the first time since a row with pundit Lele Adani last week, in which he was criticised for his negative approach in the Champions League against Ajax.

“I was disappointed with what happened on Saturday, but I am here to talk about what happens on the field and I insist not everything is to be thrown away,” he said.

“People have talked for years about this evolution of football, but I don’t think we should throw the baby out with the bathwater and forget everything coaches of our youth taught us.

“Football is not an exact science. Otherwise you could explain why we had 38 percent possession against Real Madrid and won 3-1 [Champions League 2018], but we dominated possession with Ajax and lost.

“It is only right there are opinions and I can be criticised, but we should unite everything we have been taught in the past and all that awaits us in the future. The players are the stars, they play the game, and we as coaches can only put them in the right conditions to do their best.

“People may criticise my style of football, but the job of a coach is to bring results home for his club.”

Allegri also discussed the way styles were employed by other clubs, but believes there are many more layers to a successful team.

“We had three emblematic games against Valencia, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid. I thought our best performance was against Manchester United, but nobody remembers that because we lost,” he added.

“I’ve been fortunate to train Juventus and Milan. These are two clubs with different DNA profiles, so you can’t try and emulate Barcelona or Bayern Munich.

“Liverpool had three big scoring chances [against Barcelona], but Barcelona had four and scored three. Why? Because their players are of a higher level and make the difference in certain situations.

“Barcelona has players accustomed to that level and they proved it on the night, regardless of whether Liverpool had a good game or not. It’s like a race. Everyone can run the first 900 metres but very few can run the final 100.”