Allegri warns Juve cannot 'feel sorry for ourselves' after Nantes frustration

By Sports Desk February 16, 2023

Massimiliano Allegri warned Juventus cannot afford "to feel sorry for ourselves" after the Bianconeri were denied a late penalty and failed to make their dominance pay against Nantes.

Juve were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie on Thursday after Ludovic Blas' second-half strike cancelled out a simple Dusan Vlahovic opener.

Allegri's side dominated for large parts at Allianz Stadium and were left aggrieved after seeing a late penalty appeal turned down when Andrei Girotto appeared to handle inside the area.

The VAR sent referee Joao Pinheiro to the touchline monitor in the final minutes, but he instead awarded a free-kick for a Bremer push on the Nantes defender, much to Allegri's annoyance.

"I saw it now. Needless to say it was a hand, a penalty, it should have been a second yellow card," the Juve coach told Sky Sport Italia.

While Juve were left furious with the late decision, the Bianconeri should have sealed the play-off advantage earlier after pinning their visitors back throughout.

Allegri's side managed 64.2 per cent possession in the second half, registered double their opponents' seven shots over the full game and hit the target with six of those compared to Nantes' one.

The stalemate left it all to play for at Beaujoire Stadium on February 23 as Allegri was left to rue a missed chance.

"We could have done better with our ball speed. After 1-0 we stopped, we played too much in slow motion," the Italian added.

"It went to 1-1 and then we got back to playing, we had the chance to go 2-1 up on several occasions. We have to carry on [when on top], especially in these matches where you need to score more goals.

"It's useless to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to secure qualification in France. But now we have to think about Spezia [on Sunday]."

Allegri was also left frustrated with the nature of Blas' equaliser after Nantes raced away on a counterattack that started on the edge of their own area, with Mostafa Mohamed playing through his strike partner to equalise.

He continued: "[Angel] Di Maria could shoot, he tried to dribble, it can happen. You can't let a counterattack happen from the other end of the pitch and not make a foul.

"It happened because at that moment we were a bit out of the game."

Related items

  • Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win

    Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.

    Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.

    With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.

    Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.

    Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.

    Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home

    Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.

    Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.

  • Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win

    Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.

    Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.

    With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.

    Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.

    Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.

    Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home

    Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.

    Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.

  • Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start

    Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.

    Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season. 

    After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking. 

    However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division. 

    During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).

    Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday. 

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.