Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri insists he is not concerned by Dusan Vlahovic's struggles as the Bianconeri prepare to host fellow Scudetto hopefuls Roma.
Allegri faced fierce criticism from Juventus supporters in the aftermath of Monday's 0-0 draw at Sampdoria, during which Vlahovic managed just nine touches overall, and a mere three before the break.
No player to take the field for 90 minutes in a Serie A game has had fewer touches since David Trezeguet had eight for Juventus against Catania in May 2008.
Since the start of last season, meanwhile, Vlahovic has scored 26 Serie A goals in 38 appearances, but just nine of those have come since his January move to Juventus (in 17 appearances).
Vlahovic has also gone from averaging a goal every 109 minutes for Fiorentina to scoring every 139 minutes for the Bianconeri, although his big chance conversation rate has risen since his move to Turin (80 per cent, as opposed to 73.33 per cent for Fiorentina last term).
With Juve's lack of creativity becoming a key talking point at the start of the campaign, Allegri is adamant Vlahovic's lack of involvement is not a worry.
"If he touched a ball and scored a goal, I'd be happy," Allegri said. "We had a bad first half with Sampdoria.
"The games last 95 minutes, I got angry because in the second half the game had to be grasped. They were in trouble, we had opportunities that we didn't take advantage of.
"It is normal that the performance of the first half should be improved, but there were also the merits of Sampdoria who closed the spaces and made the defenders play a lot.
"Last year we laid the foundations to go back to winning. We will try to do it, we will also see the market as it ends. The fun for me is winning and to do it you have to go through difficult moments.
"It takes a little patience. That's why the other day, after the first half you had to stay calm because you could only improve."
Vlahovic will now be joined in the Juventus attack by Arkadiusz Milik, who has arrived from Marseille, while Paris Saint-Germain's Leandro Paredes has also been linked with a move to Turin.
Though Allegri refused to be drawn on the future of the Argentina midfielder, he believes Milik could form an effective partnership with Vlahovic and is prepared to throw him in immediately.
"Paredes hasn't arrived yet and I don't know if he will arrive. We need to concentrate on tomorrow's match," he added.
"[I'm] very happy with Milik, he has impressive numbers. As regards his characteristics, he can also play with Vlahovic.
"We are waiting for the clearance that I hope will arrive in the afternoon, so tomorrow will be available. Since I haven't decided on the line-up yet, maybe I'll let him play from the beginning. But I don't know until tomorrow, this idea flashed on me."
Meanwhile, Juventus have been handed a difficult draw for the Champions League's group stages, where they will meet PSG, Benfica and Maccabi Haifa.
And Allegri expects Juve to face a direct battle for second place with the Portuguese outfit, adding: "In the Champions League these are all difficult matches, on paper PSG is stronger.
"On paper, we play for the next round with Benfica. It is unlikely that there are easy games in Europe."
I owe everything to him – Trent Alexander-Arnold grateful to Jurgen Klopp
Trent Alexander-Arnold says he owes everything to Jurgen Klopp and believes the Liverpool manager’s impending departure could feed into the title-race drama.
Reigning champions Manchester City sit top of the Premier League pile with six matches remaining after second-placed Arsenal and the third-spotted Reds suffered shock defeats on Sunday.
Liverpool’s 1-0 home loss to Crystal Palace compounded Thursday’s 3-0 Europa League quarter-final defeat at the hands of Atalanta in what could prove Klopp’s final European night at Anfield.
Alexander-Arnold made his return from two months out with a knee injury in the Eagles encounter and expects more “twists and turns” as the popular German’s final season in charge comes to an end.
“I think experience is a massive part of it,” the Liverpool academy product told The Overlap podcast.
“Obviously the other two teams will have experience from last season. They had their own title race within themselves.”
Asked if Klopp leaving and the emotion around gives Liverpool an edge in the run-in, Alexander-Arnold said: “I think he will feed into that, the further it goes.
“Let’s say we get into May, the start of May, and it’s still that tight, then he’ll start to feed into how it’s going to look, how it could feel. Up until then, we just need to try and stay (composed).
“He never says, ‘We’re trying to win the league, we’re going to win the league’.
“He doesn’t really speak about it. It’s more, ‘We’re going to get the most out of ourselves, we’re going to squeeze every drop of potential’.
“There will be twists and turns, no matter what.”
Liverpool are hoping for an almighty change in fortunes at Atalanta on Thursday, when the second leg could see Alexander-Arnold make his first start since February 10.
Every one of his appearances for his boyhood club have come under Klopp, to whom the homegrown star is eternally grateful.
“Incredible, really,” Alexander-Arnold said. “I owe everything to him, really, as a player.
“I was thinking about this recently. The only thing you can ever ask for as a young player is opportunity.
“All you can do is hope that when you get to 18, 19, you’ve got a manager that’s willing to give you a chance and I was fortunate enough to have that.
View this post on Instagram“Not only that, he put his arm round me and guided me through it, through the ups and downs, the winning of stuff, losing things.
“Good games, bad games, because your first bad game you think you’re never going to kick a ball again. You think, ‘I’m done’.”
Alexander-Arnold is expecting it to feel “weird” returning to pre-season without Klopp, although he likes the idea of a “new challenge” under an as yet undetermined new boss.
The 25-year-old will likely return late to Liverpool given England are among the favourites for Euro 2024, at which Gareth Southgate has a midfield role in mind for him.
Asked whether he sees himself as a midfielder or a right-back, Alexander-Arnold said: “I’d probably say I still see myself as a right-back.
“I see myself as someone who can probably play in both positions if needed.
“But I think my focus, until I’m told otherwise by the gaffer, is that I’m still a right-back.
“I come inside and I play inside when we have the got ball, but essentially, when you write the team-sheet, I am a right-back.”
Troy Deeney ‘pushing boundaries’ with wildcard slot at UK Open Pool Championship
Former footballer Troy Deeney hopes his wildcard entry into the UK Open Pool Championship can help “push the sport forward”.
Deeney played in the Premier League with Watford and later had a spell at boyhood club Birmingham before a brief stint in coaching at Sky Bet League Two club Forest Green, where he was sacked after just six matches in charge having taken over following the dismissal of David Horseman.
The 35-year-old is set to switch his focus to the pool table when the UK Open event starts in Telford on May 7.
Deeney hopes his participation can play a part in raising the sport’s profile.
“It’s something different, isn’t it? Something completely new,” Deeney told Sky Sports. “I just like pushing the boundaries a little bit, and seeing how it goes.
“I’ve always got fond respect for any athlete in any profession. To do what they do takes hours and years of practice and dedication, so why not try my hand at it when the opportunity has come around?”
Deeney, though, is not expecting to be an instant success.
“The aim is to go there and not embarrass myself to be honest, but also be humble enough and vulnerable enough to know these guys have been doing it for years,” he said.
“You can’t just put a few months’ worth of genuine training into it and a lot of years of odd playing – sometimes with a beer in hand as well – and expect to beat these guys.
“But I know as soon as I’m involved in anything, my competitive edge will come flowing through anyways. I’ll give it a good go.
“My end goal for this is to push the sport forward as much as I possibly can.”
Luke Hannant brace clinches Gateshead play-off place
Gateshead secured their place in the National League play-offs with a 2-1 win over champions Chesterfield, who suffered a fourth successive defeat since wrapping up the title.
The home side – facing a third game in the space of five days after losing at Fylde and Maidenhead – took the lead in the 12th minute through a penalty from Luke Hannant.
Chesterfield fell further behind in the 32nd minute when midfielder Hannant converted another spot-kick – and Spireites boss Paul Cook was shown a yellow card for his protests on the touchline.
The visitors pulled a goal back on the hour mark when defender Louis Storey turned a cross into his own net, but Gateshead held on to make sure of their play-off spot.
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