Massimiliano Allegri told his Juventus players to internalise their frustration and focus on training harder after defeat to Benfica put their Champions League hopes in peril.
A 2-1 loss in Turin followed last week's defeat by the same scoreline at Paris Saint-Germain, leaving the Bianconeri six points behind both of their early conquerors after two rounds of Group H games.
Allegri, in the second season of his second spell as Juventus head coach, appeared to point to the mental fragility of his team after the final whistle, saying they "collapsed" after going 2-1 behind in the 55th minute.
He has said he does not fear for his job, nor is he willing to engage in drawn-out public discourse about how the Turin giants might get back on track.
It is simple, according to Allegri, who believes working beats talking in a time of crisis.
"I knew when I came back that it would take time to rebuild," he said. "But unfortunately I did not think that at this moment we would lose two games in a row [in the Champions League]."
Juventus won nine consecutive Serie A titles before failing to make it 10 in a row during Andrea Pirlo's single season in charge.
They laboured to fourth place under Allegri last term, and the coach says finding an instant winning formula was always going to be difficult.
"But this is something the club knows, we all know it, but the important thing is to try to do well, to stay in the Champions League," Allegri said. "And these two games p***** us off.
"This does not mean that everything is compromised in the Champions League, but at the moment talking is useless. Plus the less we talk, the better it is, because we waste less energy."
With his team sitting eighth in Serie A after two wins and four draws so far this season, Allegri's words sounded worrying after Wednesday's defeat.
Juve had no response to the dominance of Benfica, who had previously lost 10 of their last 12 visits against Italian clubs.
"In these moments I think there are few explanations to give," Allegri said, "because in any case after we went 2-1 down, the game was over because it was in their hands. On a psychological level we had collapsed and therefore, in this moment, we can only remain silent, work and take little step after little step to get back up."
He pinpointed Sunday's Serie A game against Monza as a chance to bounce back, but whatever the result of that game it will do nothing to repair the early damage to Juve's European hopes.
"At this moment, going to look for and talk about the problems that exist does not make sense," Allegri said.
"The Champions League in this moment is complicated. This doesn't mean that it is already over, but at the moment the closest thing is Monza. So we have four days to better prepare for the match in Monza at a mental level."
He added: "I don't want to blame the lads for anything. It is normal that there must be a sense of responsibility on the part of everyone and everyone needs to do something more – not overdo, but do."
Massimiliano Allegri taking nothing for granted at resurgent strugglers Cagliari
Cagliari’s record at home means Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri is not taking the trip to the Sardinian capital lightly.
Juventus are well positioned to secure Champions League qualification for next season, while Cagliari are just four points above the drop zone ahead of Thursday’s contest at the Unipol Domus.
The Bianconeri next take on Lazio in the Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday, holding a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
But Allegri is wary of Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari, who scored twice in the last quarter of an hour to secure a 2-2 draw at runaway league leaders Inter Milan last time out.
“Of their eight wins this season, six have come at home and 23 of the 31 points they’ve got have been picked up at home,” Allegri told a press conference.
“They’re a team who score a lot of goals in the last 15 minutes of games and particularly with players who come off the bench, they have scored more goals with substitutes than anybody else.
“We know it will be a tough game, so our very best version will have to show up. We won’t be rotating ahead of the Italian Cup, the most important game is Cagliari, then we’ll focus on the cup.
“It would be a mistake to not focus on Cagliari, and a win in Sardinia would allow us to take a big step towards our goals.”
Juventus still have clashes against top-four rivals AC Milan, Roma and Bologna ahead of them in the next few weeks.
“It’s important to stay focused on the next month or so,” Allegri added. “We have a lot of difficult games to come. A win at this stage is almost worth double.”
Cagliari have lost just once in their last eight matches to ease relegation fears and twice hit back from a goal down to claim a surprise point at Inter Milan on Sunday.
“I told the guys that they are doing well, but we have new pitfalls ahead of us,” Ranieri told a press conference.
“The team is focused, we have to keep the right balance. We have to keep pushing without fear, the salvation fight is very tight. There are no foregone conclusions, you go out there and fight.”
Barcelona fined for racist behaviour of fans at Paris St Germain
Barcelona have been fined 25,000 euros (£21,400) by UEFA for racist behaviour by their fans during the Champions League quarter-final first-leg tie at Paris St Germain.
Three charges were brought against Barca following the fixture at Parc des Princes on April 10, which included acts of damage and lighting of fireworks.
UEFA’s Appeals Body announced on Thursday Barcelona will be fined for the racist behaviour of their fans and will be banned from selling tickets to their away supporters for the Spanish club’s next UEFA competition match.
That ticket ban has been suspended for a probationary period of one year, which started from the date of the present decision.
Barcelona must also pay a 2,000 euro fine for lighting fireworks and a further 5,000 euro fine for acts of damage.
After Barca won the first leg 3-2 in Paris, they lost 4-1 in the second leg at home this week to exit the Champions League 6-4 on aggregate.
Q&A – How Man City and Arsenal exits could impact Premier League’s European race
The prospect of five English clubs competing in next season’s Champions League is hanging by a thread after Manchester City and Arsenal were knocked out of the continent’s premier club competition on Wednesday night.
Here, the PA news agency explains the situation.
Why is there an extra place?
From this season, the two countries who collectively perform best in this season’s men’s European club competitions will each gain a European Performance Spot (EPS) for one of their clubs in the following season’s Champions League, which will feature a 36-team league phase from 2024-25 replacing the familiar eight groups of four.
For each of the best-performing countries, the EPS goes to the highest-finishing club in those countries who have not already qualified for the Champions League via their domestic performance. In England’s case, that would be the team finishing fifth – currently Tottenham.
How do the rankings look at the moment?
The rankings – known as the association club coefficient – are led this season by Italy. Germany were already ahead of England in the race for the second spot heading into the quarter-final second legs, but the exits of City and Arsenal – coupled with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund making progress – have widened the gap.
Last Friday – after the Europa League and Conference League first legs had been played – Germany had 16.785 points compared to England’s 16.750, a gap of 0.035. On Thursday morning the gap had grown to 0.767, with Germany on 17.642 and England on 16.875.
How are the points worked out?
Teams gain points for wins (two) and draws (one) from the start of the group phase in all three of UEFA’s men’s club competitions. Teams also earn points for participation in the Champions League group phase and for making progress beyond certain rounds in all three competitions.
The association coefficient is calculated by working out an average score – dividing the total number of points the clubs win by the number of clubs representing that country in Europe. So in England’s case any points won by the Premier League representatives are divided by eight.
Can England still do it?
In theory yes. West Ham and Liverpool could still meet in the Europa League final if they can overturn first-leg deficits to Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta respectively on Thursday night, and Aston Villa could still go all the way in the Conference League. That, coupled with the remaining German teams stumbling, means there is still very slim hope.
But Germany certainly have the edge and could even end up with six teams in next season’s Champions League. If Dortmund finish fifth in the Bundesliga but win the Champions League, it would be the second of those achievements which would secure them their Champions League place for 2024-25. The EPS would then be awarded to whoever finishes sixth – currently Eintracht Frankfurt.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
