Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri says he is on course to achieve both his pre-season objectives with the Turin giants.

The Bianconeri currently sit third in Serie A and take a 2-0 lead into Tuesday night’s return leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final in Rome against Lazio.

Allegri told a press conference: “This year we started with two goals: to qualify for next year’s Champions League – we are currently third in the standings – and to win the Coppa Italia.

“I always say that when you play, the goal must be to go all the way in the competitions, always.

“Our focus now must be to go all the way in the Coppa Italia and that must be our goal. The team will be motivated and I’m sure none of us are thinking about the two-goal lead in the first leg.

“When you are at Juventus you have to play to get results, to win. The ambition must always be to reach our maximum.

“When you play in a great team it’s important to live with the desire and, consequently, the pressure to try to win trophies.”

Allegri is in his second spell as Juve boss after replacing the sacked Andrea Pirlo in 2021.

In his first stint in charge, from 2014-19, he guided Juve to five successive league titles, four Coppa Italias and to the Champions League final twice.

Second-half goals from Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic in the first leg at the Allianz Arena earlier this month put Juve in control of the tie.

But Allegri is not underestimating Lazio, who appointed Croatian Igor Tudor as head coach in March after Maurizio Sarri resigned.

“We will find a Lazio side that will play a very aggressive game, having to come back from two goals down,” Allegri added.

“They are changing compared to the team coached by Sarri, they are much more aggressive. It will be a difficult match.

Allegri said he will monitor Chiesa, who played the full 90 minutes in Friday’s 2-2 draw at Cagliari.

Lazio boss Tudor believes his side must play the “perfect match” if they are to overturn a two-goal deficit.

He said: “It’s an important match because we are playing to get into the final, against a strong team and with a (first-leg) result that isn’t easy.

“We must try until the end with all our strength to pass, we must believe and play a perfect match. Don’t make any mistakes and go with all our strength, this is our objective and let’s see what happens.”

Juventus fought back from two down to salvage a 2-2 draw at Cagliari but the result did little to dispel speculation over the future of manager Massimiliano Allegri.

Allegri has faced heightened scrutiny over his long-term prospects at the Turin club after a poor run of form.

The Old Lady hit the Serie A summit in January but have struggled for victories in recent months and almost suffered a painful defeat to old boss Claudio Ranieri.

Cagliari raced into a two-goal lead after they were awarded two first-half penalties, which Gianluca Gaetano and Yerry Mina dispatched.

However, Ranieri was denied a victory as Dusan Vlahovic pulled one back before Alberto Dossena put through his own net with three minutes left to leave Juventus in third position with Bologna and Roma breathing down their neck after winning only two of their last 12 league matches.

Allegri made two changes in an attempt to arrest Juve’s stuttering form with Carlos Alcaraz and Timothy Weah handed starting opportunities.

It failed to have the desired impact with Cagliari able to quickly take control of the contest with away stopper Wojciech Szczesny the busier of the two goalkeepers.

After a strong start, the hosts were rewarded with the chance to go ahead on the half an hour mark when Bremer was penalised for handball after a header by Dossena.

Gaetano fired into the bottom corner from 12yards but not long after the celebrations had finished at Stadio Unipol Domus the hosts were awarded a second spot-kick.

Szczesny was the guilty party on this occasion after he brought down Zito Luvumbo and received a caution for his foul. Former Everton defender Mina stepped up and sent Szczesny the wrong way to spark jubilant celebrations in Sardinia.

Juventus did have the ball in the net before half-time, but Vlahovic’s tap-in was ruled out for offside and the deficit remained at two.

Kenan Yildiz was sent on by Allegri for the second half and the visitors did pull one back in the 61st minute.

Federico Chiesa and Vlahovic stood over a free-kick and the latter curled a delivery around the wall for his 17th goal of the season.

It provided hope for Juve and the next roll of the dice by Allegri was the introduce Weston McKennie and Arkadiusz Milik.

Juve upped the ante during the final exchanges but when Vlahovic volleyed over from close range, it looked like time might run out.

However, Allegri’s side found an equaliser with three minutes left when Dossena put the ball into his own net after a dangerous cross by Yildiz.

Yildiz almost produced a stoppage-time winner too but fired straight at Simone Scuffer late on as the points were shared.

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.”

Juventus’ poor run in Serie A extended to just two wins in 11 games as they were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw away at city rivals Torino.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side, who were top of the league when they beat Lecce on January 21 but who now trail leaders Inter Milan by 19 points having played a game more, failed to break down their mid-table opponents as their astonishing collapse in form dragged on into another week.

It was the third game in four in the league in which they have failed to score and leaves them vulnerable to being caught in the race to qualify for the Champions League, with fifth-place Roma able to cut the gap on them to five points should they win their game in hand.

Dusan Vlahovic had Juve’s clearest chances of the first half, first when he knocked Federico Chiesa’s cross against a post, then again when he was foiled by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in the Torino goal.

The goalkeeper was called on again to deny the visitors, diving at full stretch to keep out a firm low effort from Kenan Yildiz.

Duvan Zapata thought he had given Torino the lead when he crashed the ball home shortly after half-time, only for his effort to be ruled out for a foul committed by Raoul Bellanova against Juve’s Filip Kostic.

Antonio Sanabria rose highest to meet Bellanova’s cross midway through the second half, drawing a good save from Wojciech Szczesny as Torino threatened.

The hosts might have made it a truly disastrous night for Allegri when Karol Linetty’s ball in was turned over the crossbar by Valentino Lazaro, who seemed to make contact with the ball with his neck with the goal gaping.

It concluded a frustrating encounter for Juve, and came in stark contrast to the comfortable 2-0 win they enjoyed in the derby back in October, when the team were in the early stages of what looked a credible title challenge.

It leaves Allegri’s side in a fight to ensure they do not miss out on the Champions League for a second consecutive season.

They still have the possible consolation of the Coppa Italia to aim for, and play the second leg of their semi-final away to Lazio on April 23 looking to defend a 2-0 aggregate lead.

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri wants his players to ride an adrenaline wave to Champions League qualification.

The Bianconeri enter their Turin derby against Torino on Saturday sat in third place but knowing that the performance of Serie A sides in Europe this season means that as many as five could qualify for the 2024-25 Champions League.

With the Italian title out of reach – Inter Milan are in pole position – they have focused on securing a return to continental action after being banned for the current campaign for breaching financial fair play regulations.

And Allegri insists only Europe’s top competition will do as he looks to re-establish Juventus on the continent.

“It’s nice to get to this point in the season where the adrenalin is high. It will be an important match for us because the Champions League is fundamental for Juve, both on an image and economic level,” he said.

“We cannot be absent from Europe’s top competition for two years, so now 35 to 40 fundamental days begin in which points are extremely important and in which we must fight for victories in order to reach our objective.

“The Italian teams are doing well in Europe – and not only this season. We must be confident and continue to work to improve. I know we can improve and we work to always do so.

“We want to be in the Champions League next year, it’s a factor that makes all the difference at this club.”

A 1-0 victory over Fiorentina last Sunday came at a crucial time for Juventus following a poor run in Serie A.

It was only their second win in 10 league games, a sequence that included four defeats and has all but ended their title hopes.

“Winning helps and it was important to win against Fiorentina, in a hard clash, to get us out of this difficult moment,” Allegri said.

“We must have continuity but Torino will not be an easy opponent because they have their own objectives.”

Federico Gatti got the only goal as Juventus edged out Fiorentina 1-0 to strengthen their grip on third place in Serie A.

The Turin side ended a run of four league games without a win thanks to Gatti’s 21st-minute strike to close to within six points of second-placed AC Milan.

Napoli scored four goals in the space of 13 second-half minutes as they came from behind to win 4-2 at Monza.

Milan Djuric had put the hosts in front but Victor Osimhen levelled 10 minutes into the second half, with Matteo Politano and Piotr Zielinski making it 3-1 by the 61st minute.

Andrea Colpani got one back for the hosts but Giacomo Raspadori made sure of Napoli’s win.

Nicolas Viola’s 88th minute winner moved Cagliari four points clear of the drop zone as they came from behind to beat Atalanta 2-1, with Tommaso Augello cancelling out Gianluca Scamacca’s opener.

Monaco stretched their unbeaten Ligue 1 run to six games and moved up to third with a 1-0 win over Rennes as both teams had a player sent off.

Maghnes Akliouche got the goal in the 25th minute, teed up by Ismail Jacobs, and Rennes were reduced to 10 early in the second half as Martin Terrier saw red for a poor tackle on Akliouche.

The numbers were levelled up in the 64th minute when Thilo Kehrer was shown a second yellow card.

Juventus ended a run of four games without a win with a 1-0 victory over Fiorentina at the Allianz Stadium.

The Old Lady had three disallowed goals in the first half, which were all ruled out for offside, but they did have one which counted when Federico Gatti reacted quickest to knock in the rebound.

Fiorentina tried hard to get on level terms in the second period as Nicolas Gonzalez hit the crossbar, alongside efforts from Lucas Beltran and Antonin Barak, but Juventus held strong to further strengthen their chances of returning to the Champions League.

Juventus thought they had taken the lead in the seventh minute when Gatti’s header found Weston McKennie inside the box before he neatly finished into the net, only for the linesman’s flag to cut celebrations short.

The hosts had another goal disallowed in the 12th minute as Filip Kostic’s cross caused problems in the Fiorentina box, Gatti smashed off the bar before Dusan Vlahovic poked home, but the goal was ruled out this time after a VAR review.

The home side had the ball in the net for a third time when Gleison Bremer headed a cross onto the post, with Gatti on hand to slot home from inside the six-yard box to finally take the lead.

Juventus had yet another goal disallowed on the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa’s cross was nodded down by McKennie into the path of Vlahovic, who thought he scored against his old side only for VAR to rule that his team-mate was offside in the build-up.

It took 58 minutes for Fiorentina to hit their first effort on target when Barak decided to let rip from 25 yards, but Wojciech Szczesny was stood in the centre of the goal to snuff out the opportunity.

Back came Juventus in search for a second and Kostic delivered another dangerous cross into the Fiorentina six-yard box and Nikola Milenkovic’s touch took it past the woodwork.

Juventus had a chance to double their lead as Vlahovic twisted and turned to try shake off the defence, but Fiorentina got enough bodies back to safely clear.

Fiorentina started to look more dangerous and came within inches of an equaliser as Gonzalez cut inside and curled an audacious effort into the top corner only for Szczesny to tip on to the crossbar.

The away side made most of the running in the second period and came close to a leveller yet again when Maxime Lopez’s low cross into the box found Beltran.

His goalbound effort seemed to be going in, but team-mate M’Bala Nzola could not get out of the way as Fiorentina went three games without victory.

Massimiliano Allegri says playing in next season’s Champions League is essential for his Juventus youngsters to develop.

Juve ended a four-game winless run on Tuesday by beating Lazio 2-0 in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final.

A dip in league form – Juventus have not won in Serie A since edging out Frosinone 3-2 at home on February 25 – has left Allegri’s third-placed side with a seven-point advantage over Roma in fifth.

“In the Champions League you have to get there, one way or another,” manager Allegri said ahead of Sunday’s visit from mid-table Fiorentina.

“We have good players who get better the more they play.

“And next year with the Champions League there would be at least eight international level matches which can help the kids grow even more.

“There are players who need time, to put in matches with Juventus and international matches.”

Allegri insisted his squad have continued to grow, despite a sticky patch which saw league defeats at Lazio and Napoli and home draws with Atalanta and Genoa.

He said: “Boys grow by playing. Regardless of this last period where we dropped points along the way, it doesn’t mean that the boys haven’t grown.

“The team has always trained well, but as often happens, victories help and give confidence.

“Now we have eight league games left, we need to earn the points needed to achieve the Champions League objective.

“The positive result makes you see everything differently. It (Fiorentina) will be a good test of character.”

Fiorentina also won the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final in midweek by beating Atalanta 1-0 at home.

Allegri said: “They played a good game against Atalanta, so we know the difficulties of this match.

“But we have another opportunity to consolidate our position and my only thought is to achieve the objectives together with the team and finish the season in the best way possible.

“We have to fight, we have to struggle. We must have the conviction and the clear idea that we have eight games in the league to achieve this.

“We know that from here to the end of the campaign there will be difficulties, but one way or another we have to get there.”

Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik remains sidelined with a muscle injury that is expected to keep him out for another two to three weeks.

Fiorentina have won only once in six league outings, with no Serie A success on the road since a 1-0 victory at Monza three days before Christmas.

An investigation has been launched after Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie was allegedly subjected to racist chants during Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final first-leg victory over Lazio.

McKennie played his part in Juve’s 2-0 win after he set up Dusan Vlahovic for the club’s second goal of the last-four clash.

The United States international was substituted in the 89th minute and footage on social media appeared to show McKennie being targeted with racist chants by a section of fans at Allianz Stadium.

Juventus has now confirmed they are looking into the incident of alleged racism, which they state came from visiting supporters inside the stadium.

“Juventus Football Club takes note of the video circulated on social networks and reported by some media from which it would emerge the intonation of discriminatory chants coming from the visiting sector and directed at Weston McKennie during his substitution in the Juventus-Lazio semi-final first leg of the Italian Cup, played on 2 April,” a club statement read.

“Following confirmation of the incident by the player, the club communicates that it has activated all procedures aimed at verifying what happened and will fully cooperate in order to identify the persons responsible and, consequently, take all necessary measures in this regard.”

Juventus kept alive their hopes of silverware this season with a 2-0 first-leg win in their Coppa Italia semi-final against Lazio.

Front two Federico Chiesa and Dusan Vlahovic scored in the early part of the second half to break open a previously underwhelming encounter at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.

The two sides also met in Serie A on Saturday, Lazio winning that game 1-0 with a stoppage-time goal from Adam Marusic, but Massimiliano Allegri’s side successfully turned the tables as he chases a record fifth Coppa Italia as coach to break a tie with Roberto Mancini and Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Lazio lost Mattia Zaccagni to injury just 10 minutes in after he was caught by Federico Gatti – and were grateful things did not get worse even before substitute Gustav Isaksen was able to enter the pitch.

Matias Vecino was harshly penalised after catching Andrea Cambiaso in his own area, the Juventus player leaping across him as he cleared the ball, but VAR overruled the penalty decision due to Cambiaso being offside when Vlahovic headed towards goal.

Isaksen saw one long-range effort blocked and another deflected behind by Danilo for a corner and Felipe Anderson ripped a 25-yard drive well over.

Cambiaso failed to control a deft return ball from Chiesa, costing Juve one of their few clear sights of goal in the first half, and they will be without defender Gatti for April 23’s return leg due to suspension after he was booked for a foul on Isaksen.

Luis Alberto headed Patric’s cross against the bar, with keeper Mattia Perin a touch uncertain under the looping ball, and Adrien Rabiot’s powerful 20-yard volley was straight at Christos Mandas in the Lazio goal as the half ended scoreless.

Nicolo Casale replaced Patric at half-time but the visitors soon fell behind when Manuel Locatelli did well to keep the ball alive and Cambiaso’s brilliant long pass cut the Lazio midfield and defence out of the game for Chiesa to finish clinically.

Locatelli blasted just wide after a rapid break, though a free-kick was given against Chiesa in any case, but Vlahovic soon made it 2-0 after turning Casale inside out.

Gatti headed just wide from Filip Kostic’s corner, conceded by Casale’s excellent tackle as Chiesa appealed in vain for a penalty, before Lazio boss Igor Tudor sought to change things with the introductions of Taty Castellanos and Daichi Kamada.

Juve substitutes Kenan Yildiz and Timothy Weah combined with Vlahovic to create a chance that was snuffed out by Mandas and Yildiz fired an ambitious effort well wide in the closing stages.

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri is backing his players as they attempt to bring a difficult season to a satisfactory conclusion.

Saturday’s 1-0 Serie A defeat at Lazio left Juve 17 points behind runaway leaders Inter Milan, who entertain lowly Empoli on Monday evening, and knowing they now have only Champions League qualification and the prospect of Coppa Italia glory for which to play.

They will attempt to take a step towards the latter on Tuesday evening when they face the Rome club for the second time in four days, this time on home turf at the Allianz Stadium in the first leg of the domestic cup semi-final, with either Fiorentina or Atalanta awaiting the winners.

Allegri told a press conference: “The guys must have confidence in themselves. They’re a great group who always give their all on the pitch.

“We have to keep working because we still have two important objectives to aim for in securing Champions League qualification and the Coppa Italia.

“I have nothing to criticise the boys for, we just have to get through this period.”

The 14-times winners head into the game in indifferent form, with Adam Marusic’s stoppage-time strike at the Stadio Olimpico at the weekend extending their league run to just one win in nine games.

With second-placed AC Milan six points ahead of Allegri’s men in third and just two separating them from Bologna in fourth, the pressure is on in the race for Champions League qualification.

In the circumstances, the prospect of reaching a domestic cup final may provide a welcome distraction.

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny said: “It’s a bad period in which you realise that everybody needs to give more for Juventus.

“We really have a lot of desire to do well, but the results aren’t coming at the moment. We know that we haven’t done well enough in the last two months and what is needed to achieve our goals.

“The Coppa Italia is a trophy that we can still win and Champions League qualification is very important for us and it’s up to us to seal it.”

Lazio’s win at the weekend, which kept them in touch with the top six, was their second in succession after a run of four successive defeats in all competitions, including a Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich, and they will be keen to keep the momentum going under new boss Igor Tudor.

They have lifted the trophy on seven occasions, most recently in 2019, but will be without goalkeeper Ivan Provedel under concussion protocols.

Allegri has Filip Kostic available after illness, while Alex Sandro and Carlos Alcaraz have returned to training following injury lay-offs, but Arkadiusz Milik is still out.

Lazio scored a dramatic late winner to seal a deserved 1-0 victory over out-of-sorts Juventus at Stadio Olimpico.

Adam Marusic netted three minutes into stoppage time as Lazio claimed both the three points and also strike a psychological blow ahead of Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final first leg between the two teams in Turin.

Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve, who have now won just once in their last nine matches, had another day to forget, failing to find their attacking rhythm as they found themselves under the cosh for much of the game.

That did not look like being the case early on as the third-placed Bianconeri started the better of the two sides, with Federico Chiesa looking lively. The Italy international used his pace to get into a dangerous area before his whipped cross was headed narrowly wide by centre-back Bremer.

Felipe Anderson was Lazio’s main outlet during the opening exchanges and he fashioned a chance for Taty Castellanos after beating four Juve players before unselfishly picking out his team-mate, but the Argentinian fired wide from inside the box.

The combination of Castellanos and Anderson continued to threaten a Juve side looking for points to seal a Champions League spot, but again Lazio failed to make the most of their chances with Castellanos missing the target again.

Lazio’s lack of cutting edge continued after a mix-up at the back between Juve centre-back Daniele Rugani and Wojciech Szczesny. The Poland goalkeeper found himself in trouble following a back pass by his defender but after a scramble in the box, Juve managed to clear and save their blushes.

A stellar defensive performance from Bremer continued into the second half as the visitors fought to keep Lazio’s attacking threats under control.

Ciro Immobile combined with Marusic inside the area but the resolute Brazilian blocked the ball, getting a crucial touch on the shot to turn it wide as the game remained goalless.

Lazio coach Giovanni Martusciello turned to his bench in one last attempt to break the deadlock, sending on Spanish forward Luis Alberto in a bid to inject some attacking life into a cagey affair in Rome.

And the home side were rewarded for their efforts in stoppage time when wing-back Marusic rose highest to head in the winner.

Juventus’ Serie A title challenge may well be over for another year but coach Massimiliano Allegri is still looking for a strong finish to the season.

The Turin giants last claimed the scudetto in 2020 but their hopes of ending that run this campaign have all-but disappeared after winning just one of their last eight games.

That means the third-placed Bianconeri will go into this weekend’s trip to Lazio a massive 17 points behind runaway leaders Inter Milan with only nine league games left.

However, with a top-four spot yet to be secured and the Coppa Italia up for grabs – Juve face Lazio in the first leg of their semi-final next Tuesday – Allegri’s men still have plenty to play for as action resumes after the international break.

Allegri told a press conference: “The players who have returned from international duty are well, and those who stayed with us worked a lot on the pitch.

“Now we’re all ready for that final push to the finish line, we have 55 days to take us to the end of the season.

“The most important thing for us now is that we’re all focused on the end of the season.

“We’ve dropped a lot of points and we have to be realistic. In the second half of the season we’ve only picked up 13 points, and now we have 27 to play for to consolidate our place in the Champions League spots.

“Then there’s the Italian Cup, and on Tuesday we have another important game against Lazio hoping to stay in the fight for silverware. We have to think about that too.”

Allegri, who said Italy forward Moise Kean will start against Lazio as he looks to push his Euro 2024 claims, is set to take charge of his 500th Serie A match this weekend.

The 56-year-old former AC Milan and Cagliari coach said: “I’m pleased to have reached 500 games in charge, and it’s evidence of my desire, passion and love for the job and this sport. I want to have fun still and I love being out on the pitch.”

Moise Kean hit the post in added-time as Juventus continued their run of disappointing results with a goalless draw at home to Genoa.

Substitute Kean came close to winning it for the Massimilano Allegri’s side when he struck the woodwork in the closing moments but it was another lacklustre showing for a team with just one victory from their last eight Serie A matches.

Dusan Vlahovic, just back from suspension, made things even worse in the dying seconds when he was sent off – booked initially for a foul then again for dissent.

The Serbian could have finished things himself when he spurned a good chance in the 75th minute, but mid-table Genoa hung on for a welcome point.

The visitors were first to threaten from an early corner, Mattia Bani winning the header but unable to beat the dive of Wojciech Szczesny.

Szczesny had little to do as the game wore on but was required to mop up soon for a second time in quick succession when Vitinha got a half-volley away. Tempers soon flared between Danilo and Mateo Retegui, with the pair split up by the referee before play could resume.

Juve took their time to establish a rhythm in attack, but eventually stitched together a nice move involving Weston McKennie and Fabio Miretti. Federico Gatti took the chance to shoot but was denied by Josep Martinez.

The hosts continued to press forward without precision, Gatti trying unsuccessfully to make something out of Filip Kostic’s pass, Gleison Bremer heading wide from a corner and Federico Chiesa tumbling inside the penalty area to no avail.

Genoa’s counters were no sharper, with a couple of long shots failing to worry Szczesny.

Looking for a lift, Allegri made a triple substitution on the hour as Adrien Rabiot, Kenan Yildiz and Samuel Iling-Junior entered the fray. Things began to improve for the home side, who created a couple of half-chances for Vlahovic before Iling-Junior produced a flash of inspiration.

Letting rip from outside the area the England under-21 international came closer than anyone to breaking the deadlock, with Martinez getting a decisive touch.

Genoa’s resistance should have been broken with 15 minutes left to play, Andrea Cambiaso’s cross picking out Vlahovic in a scoring position only for the striker to fluff his lines.

That was as good as it got, despite the best efforts of the bright Iling-Junior, who had one last attempt on goal, and Kean as Genoa’s hard work earned them a share of the spoils following back-to-back defeats.

Massimiliano Allegri wants Juventus to get their rapidly derailing Serie A season back on track against Genoa on Sunday before the international break gives their title rivals chance to breathe.

Juve have won only one of their last seven league matches, losing three, and last weekend’s 2-2 home draw with Atalanta allowed AC Milan to take over as top side Inter’s closest challengers for the Scudetto.

Next opponents Genoa have been less than impressive away from home this term and Bianconeri head coach Allegri hopes this offers his team an opportunity to put a match to bed and make a statement before his players disappear on international duty.

He told a press conference: “We’ve had a good week, we all understand the period we’re going through.

“We’ve decided to stay together as a team for one more evening, knowing that we need to get back on track. We have goals to reach and we know tomorrow’s importance.

“In the last few games we haven’t given up many chances, but have conceded a lot of goals.

“At times that can happen. We need to improve defensively as a team, not just as individuals. There are some mistakes that we need to resolve and we’re working on it.”

On his selection issues, the Tuscan boss added: “We’re without (Arkadiusz) Milik and we’ll have to re-evaluate him after the international break, but (Mattia) Perin and (Mattia) De Sciglio are back. We have all of our forwards available, like (Moise) Kean.

“(Adrien) Rabiot doesn’t have 90 minutes in the tank just yet but just having him available is a positive.”

Genoa head to the Allianz Stadium on the back of two straight defeats, the first to Inter, while a 3-2 home defeat by Monza is still stinging a week later.

Head coach Alberto Gilardino, the former AC Milan and Parma striker, told reporters: “Allegri is a really great manager and Juve have a very strong squad full of world-class players.

“They’ve won a lot and are on an arc of improvement with lots of young stars coming through alongside plenty of experienced, quality players. They started the season among the favourites to win the title this year.

“They’re a difficult team to go up against as they have players who can change the game at any moment. But, as we saw in the first game, what counts is what we can do out on the pitch.

“We need to maintain great balance and pay even more attention to the fine details so we can maximise what the team, and the individual players, are trying to do.”