Allegri admits to regrets as Juventus slump continues

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri admitted to having regrets after the Bianconeri missed the chance to close the gap to second-placed Milan in Sunday’s Serie A draw with Roma.

Romelu Lukaku put Roma ahead early on at the Stadio Olimpico but Bremer’s header dragged Juventus level before the break, as two teams vying for a top-five finish cancelled each other out.

Juventus have now won just two of their last 14 league games, and Allegri reacted to the final whistle on Sunday by storming off the bench and throwing his jacket to the ground in frustration.

Speaking to DAZN after the game, Allegri said: “There are regrets, naturally we could’ve done better during this period, but football is vicious like that, sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.

“We risked losing a game that we were in a position to win at the start of the second half.”

Despite four consecutive Serie A draws, Juventus remain six points clear of fifth-placed Roma and nine ahead of Atalanta in sixth – though La Dea have two games in hand.

With Italy guaranteed five Champions League qualification places for next season, they remain in a strong position to return to Europe’s premier club competition, while they are also due to face Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final on May 15.

4 – Juventus have drawn four #SerieA matches in a row for the first time since February-March 2012, under Antonio Conte. Impact.#RomaJuventus

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 5, 2024

“The important thing now is to concentrate on the next game, as that is the match point for the Champions League, then we have the Coppa Italia final,” Allegri said.

“The club will evaluate at the end of the season, naturally there are some solid foundations for Juve, but we were missing players like [Paul] Pogba, [Nicolo] Fagioli and of course [Federico] Chiesa was on and off.”

Despite Juventus enjoying a broadly positive campaign after finishing seventh in 2022-23, when they were hampered by a 10-point deduction after an investigation into their historical financial dealings, Allegri’s position has been called into question lately.

Asked about his own future, he said: “I don’t know, you’d have to ask the club.

“The important thing is for us to focus on the Coppa Italia final and hopefully, we’ll come back here with the Champions League already achieved.”