MX23RW : Saturday, December 21 08:57:21| >> :120:5901:5901:
[monks data]
Attendance: 40,069
Juventus logo
Serie A | Gameweek 17
Dec 22, 2018 at 7.30pm UK
 
Roma logo

1-0

Mandzukic (35')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Allegri demanding even more from table-toppers Juve

Allegri demanding even more from table-toppers Juve
© Reuters
The reigning title holders are the winter champions as they hold an eight-point lead over Napoli.

Topping the table at Christmas means very little to Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri, who wants six more points on the board before the new year arrives.

Juve restored their eight-point lead over second-placed Napoli by beating Roma 1-0 in Turin on Saturday night thanks to a first-half goal from Mario Mandzukic, but the Bianconeri toiled fruitlessly in pursuit of a second goal to kill the game off.

Next is a trip to face Atalanta on Boxing Day, which is swiftly followed by next Saturday's home meeting with Sampdoria.

Allegri told juventus.com: "We haven't won anything yet. We are doing good things and we are the winter champions but we need to have picked up even more points as of December 29.

"The lads played well after the break and (Robin) Olsen made some good saves. Overall I'm happy, we put on a good show.

"We had to put a lot of pressure on Roma to make things difficult for them psychologically, and after we took the lead there were a few situations which we could have exploited better, but on the whole we did well, in both halves."

Juve captain Giorgio Chiellini rued the failure to get past Roma goalkeeper Olsen again after the break, with Cristiano Ronaldo experiencing the bulk of the frontline's frustration.

Chiellini said: "The strength of this team is not one player: whether that's me, or Cristiano, or Mario, but it's in the collective and we saw that tonight.

"In the second half we could have done a bit better when we were in possession in their half, we were struggling to counter-attack at times.

"We can get better, because we really needed to score a second goal. Games are played across the whole 90 minutes.

"We'll enjoy a few hours of rest and then it's on to thinking about Bergamo, where a tough game awaits us."

Roma head coach Eusebio Di Francesco, whose side are languishing down in eighth place due to inconsistent form, said: "In the first 45 minute we saw the same fear and insecurity of recent games.

"But after the break we overcame that: we battled with determination and used the ball a lot better."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '9f13522c-3a63-4e85-957d-62258e214a80');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:match-reports,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Allegri demanding even more from table-toppers Juve'});

ID:344977: cacheID:344977:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4894:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri pictured on November 27, 2018
Read Next:
Juve boss Allegri warns of threat still posed by struggling Roma
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Texans
@
Chiefs
9.30pm
Steelers
@
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Atalanta BCAtalanta16121339172237
2Napoli16112324111335
3Inter Milan15104140152534
4Fiorentina1594228111731
5Lazio1610153023731
6Juventus16610026121428
7AC Milan167542516926
8Bologna156722118325
9Udinese166281925-620
10Empoli164751416-219
11Torino165471720-319
12Roma164481823-516
13Genoa163761324-1116
14Lecce164481027-1716
15Parma163672328-515
16Como163671828-1015
17Hellas VeronaHellas Verona1750122140-1915
18CagliariCagliari163581526-1114
19Monza161781421-710
20VeneziaVenezia1624101529-1410


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!