Cremonese

Arkadiusz Milik's late free-kick saw off Cremonese to extend the Bianconeri's winning run in a 1-0 victory that also marked seven games in a row without conceding.

While Allegri's side have been strong defensively, they have fallen below expectations in the attacking third – scoring just five goals in eight away matches in Serie A this term – and the Juventus coach is aware of the need to improve.

"Juve has a very important squad. At this stage, important young players came out," he told a post-match press conference.

"There are reasons to be happy, there is work to be done and to think that there is only room for improvement. The market is there if needed. At the moment, the Juventus squad is fine like this."

Juventus' hard-fought victory over Cremonese saw Allegri shuffle his deck in the second half, which ultimately proved decisive for Milik's late winner, and he praised the displays of his substitutes.

"We had five difficult minutes, then the game came back into our hands and Milik scored a great goal," he added, "I had important players on the bench and they did well.

"Chiesa came in well, [Adrien] Rabiot the same, [Leandro] Paredes did better as a winger. [Samuel] Iling-Junior came in well, [Moise] Kean, too. These changes on the bench are very important."

Allegri has further reasons to be positive amid the winning run with the quality of players due to return from injury – one of which is World Cup winner Angel di Maria, who has returned to training.

"Today he trained, he looks better," Allegri said, "Angel is extraordinary, he has extraordinary qualities.

"Unfortunately, he has taken this blow and we hope to have him available soon. Like [Paul] Pogba, [Dusan] Vlahovic and [Juan] Cuadrado. Everyone is needed."

Juventus host Udinese on Saturday, before then turning attention to what could be a crucial game on the road against Serie A leaders Napoli the following week.

Arkadiusz Milik hit a late winner for the Bianconeri at the end of a match in which winless Cremonese had created the better of the chances.

The Serie A strugglers were twice frustrated by the officials in the first half, while Cyriel Dessers then struck the post in the second period.

But Milik's free-kick crept past Marco Carnesecchi for another victory that moved Juve to within seven points of leaders Napoli ahead of their clash with Inter.

The coronavirus - officially named Covid-19 – first emerged in China towards the end of last year but has spread to a number of other countries since, including Italy.

It was confirmed on Saturday that two Italian people who had been infected have died - a 78-year-old man from Padua, Veneto, as well as a woman in Lombardy.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, 88 amateur football matches scheduled to take place in Lombardy on Saturday had been postponed, while Serie C and Serie D games were also impacted.

Ascoli's home match with Cremonese – who are from Cremona, Lombardy – in the eastern Marche region is the most high-profile match to be called off, following a decision from the Operational Safety Group (GOS).

This comes after the Cremonese youth team's match with Brescia in Primavera 2 did not go ahead due to the "health emergency" in Cremona.

A Lega Serie B statement, confirming the postponement of the youth fixture, read: "Due to the health emergency following contagions for coronavirus which is involving Cremonese, which has also led to the closure of all schools in the city by order of the mayor, and in agreement with the two clubs, Lega B postpones the Primavera 2 match between Cremonese and Brescia scheduled for the Arvedi sports center today, Saturday 22 February, at 2.30 pm."