The Italian tactician certainly proved correct in throwing his two January signings straight into the starting XI for their debuts, as both Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria got on the score-sheet.
Follow Us
Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri was pleased with his side’s performance in the 2-0 win over Verona in the Serie A fixture in Turin on Sunday. The Italian tactician certainly proved correct in throwing his two January signings straight into the starting XI for their debuts, as both Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria got on the score-sheet. With Atalanta losing 2-1 at home to Cagliari earlier on the day, the result also sees Juve climb to top four for the first time this season.
Also read: Barcelona news: Xavi’s side defeated Atletico Madrid 4-2
La settimana di @Deniszakaria8 e #DV7:
Presentazione ?#JuventusMuseum ?
Esordio con gol in #JuveVerona ⚽️Praticamente perfetta ❤️ pic.twitter.com/hVM5Pvs1aD
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) February 7, 2022
“They did well and were lucky. It was a tough game, as Verona run hard, we took the right approach and the forwards worked hard, while we created chances, showed quality and are happy with the performance,” Allegri told DAZN.
“Having said that, it’s important we stay focused, keep our feet on the ground, because there’s a long road ahead of us. Verona made it really difficult with their challenges and duels, but we had such enthusiasm, it would’ve been a pity not to mark it with a victory.”
Juventus broke the deadlock in the 13th minute. Paulo Dybala played a perfect overhead ball to release Vlahovic on goal. The Serbian striker drove forward before lifting the ball over an advancing Montipo to put Juve in front.
Vlahovic was then inches away from scoring a second with his cushioned finish off his right foot on an Alvaro Morata cross. And then, in the 61st minute, Juve scored their second of the night from a classic counter-attack.
Morata used his body to good effect to get past his marksman in the midfield and then dribbled forward before setting up Zakaria to slot home past Montipo from inside the box. The Swiss midfielder had joined the Italian club from Borussia Monchengladbach in the winter transfer window.
Dybala and Morata worked harder than we’ve ever seen them in order to maintain the tempo and provide ample support to Vlahovic in attack.
“I told them I’d gladly play all of them together, but they need to put the effort in. They did really well, both attacking and defending.
“Paulo played really well, sacrificed himself and gave Vlahovic an excellent assist, Alvaro did the same with Zakaria.
“Now we’ve got the Coppa Italia, we want to get into the semi-final and then we have Atalanta next week.”
When Allegri was asked for his opinion on the Vlahovic debut performance, the coach said: “Vlahovic had a couple of poor initial first touches at the start, which he needs to improve so it’ll be cleaner in his movement. He loves being in the battle, but he’s only 22, he doesn’t have that much experience.
“He needs to improve the way he shakes off defenders, including on his right foot.”
Zakaria has been compared to Blaise Matuidi, so how does the coach view that link?
“Matuidi was more aggressive than Zakaria, he’d get there with these long legs. Zakaria is a smart guy, he dived straight in there and did well.”
With Juve flying into fourth, are they still targeting only a Champions League spot or are they back in the title race?
“The Scudetto is between Inter, Milan and Napoli, we are out of it right now. As for the Champions League, it’s still wide open.
“We have to take it one step at a time, Atalanta have a game in hand and we go head-to-head on Sunday. The Scudetto is between those three up there. Unfortunately, we are missing those four points that would’ve allowed us to challenge for the title, but we didn’t get those points, so we just have to accept it.”
