LISBON – Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri says his side are “sorry and angry” following their 4-3 Champions League loss at Benfica on Tuesday, as they missed out on the knockout phase for the first time since 2013-14.
The defeat means the struggling Italian side can finish third at best in Group H, which would earn them a place in the Europa League preliminary knockout round.
“More than the wrong approach, I think we were too soft in defence in the first half,” Allegri said. “We are disappointed and angry because we are out of the Champions League.
“Now we have to focus on the (Italian) league and also remain focused against Paris (Saint-Germain next Wednesday) because we have at least to book a place in the Europa League.
“We made too many mistakes tonight but it’s not useful to talk about that now. I don’t consider this a failure. In football there are also defeats.
“We are sorry and angry. The team finished well so it’s not a physical matter. We must continue working.”
Antonio Silva’s early header, a Joao Mario penalty just before the half-hour mark and Rafa Silva’s classy brace kept Benfica second in Group H and tied with leaders PSG on 11 points.
Both sides are eight points ahead of the third-placed Italians with one game to play. Allegri’s men are not even guaranteed of dropping to the Europa League as they are level on just three points with Maccabi Haifa.
The Turin club scored via Moise Kean, Arkadiusz Milik and Weston McKennie.
The defeat will put more pressure on Allegri on a day in which prosecutors in Italy closed preliminary investigations into alleged false accounting by Juve.
It has also been a poor season so far for the team in Serie A as they languish in eighth place, 10 points off top spot, but Allegri hopes the players will take the battling spirit they showed in Lisbon into the domestic competition.
“Now let’s think about Serie A, let’s start from the last 20 minutes (of this game) and try to win at Lecce (on Saturday). We must make the effort and continue to work to remain in the championship (race),” he said.
“In the league we have four games before the (World Cup) break. We have to recover our energy, and with the players I have available we must do well.”
The coach brought on a trio of teenagers in the second half on Tuesday and all caught the eye, something he says bodes well for the future.
“I’m happy with the guys, they have quality. Fabio Miretti has played many games, Matias Soule and Samuel Iling entered well,” he said.
“We could have made better use of some opportunities at the end. But they gave that mental energy the team needed.”
Benfica coach Roger Schmidt praised his side for playing “brilliantly” with and without the ball. The Portuguese side had more shots (15 to 13) and more possession (55 per cent) in the clash.
He added: “We were playing against Juventus, who are not an easy team to play against but we believed in ourselves and played great football.” REUTERS, AFP
