Historic bankruptcy against Benfica: concerns and question marks at Juventus Turin

Historic bankruptcy against Benfica: concerns and question marks at Juventus Turin

Juventus just can’t get going. After the 2-1 defeat against Benfica, the Bianconeri are threatened with an early end in the Champions League group stage.

After the opening defeat against PSG, Juve also lost their Champions League home game against Benfica. Despite an early lead from Arkadiusz Milik, Max Allegri’s side stumbled as the game progressed and eventually left the field as deserved losers. It is the first time in Juve’s history that they have lost the first two group games in the premier class.

Now that they are six points behind the leaders PSG and Benfica, it will be a Herculean task for the Turin team to make it into the knockout stage – especially in the current form in which the Italian record champion is.

Unsurprisingly, the Tifosi booed their team after the final whistle. Leo Bonucci could understand the reaction of the followers. “The whistles are justified. There is little to say. We lost a game that we shouldn’t lose under any circumstances,” said the veteran Prime video. “We deserve to be whistled at. In cases like this, I’m the captain who has to make a statement. We’re going through a phase where we’re struggling.”

The defender, who normally has no self-doubt, admitted he was “concerned” about the current state of the squad. His former teammate and Juve legend Claudio Marchisio does not recognize his club either. “I feel like Juventus are tired both physically and mentally. That’s what worries me the most, apart from the nature of the game,” said the former midfield ace Prime video.

In such a difficult phase, of course, all eyes are on the coach. Several Tifosi already want the separation from Allegri, who has not managed to inject Juve with a coherent game system since his return a year ago. The current results do not come out of nowhere.

However, the coach does not (yet) expect to be released. “I don’t feel threatened at all. Moments like this are part of football,” said Allegri succinctly after Benfica’s bankruptcy. “When the score was 2-1 it was game over, they could have been 3-1 or 4-1 up. We could have equalised, but it was a performance that fell short of expectations.”

“We work well as a group,” assured the 55-year-old. “There are a lot of expectations, but we’re also missing a lot of players.”

Irritations about Milik substitution

There was also irritation about the personnel changes during the game. Although Juve were 2-1 down, Allegri dismissed the 1-0 goalscorer Arkadiusz Milik and Filip Kostic. A decision that raised some question marks – including among the players. After the final whistle, the TV cameras caught Angel Di Maria asking the Polish attacker why he had to go down despite being behind. Milik, who had shown a good game up until then, just shrugged his shoulders in irritation.

“I took Milik out because we were struggling with only two midfielders,” Allegri said of the move. “I had to take out a striker, I took out Milik who seemed more tired.”

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This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as Historic bankruptcy against Benfica: concerns and question marks at Juventus Turin released.

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