Allegri: Madrid were excellent

Max Allegri admits Real Madrid were “excellent” value for their 4-1 victory over Juventus in the Champions League Final.

Juve were blown away by Madrid in the second half at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium as they lost a fifth straight European Final, and Allegri rued the manner in which his side “let go psychologicially” after Casemiro’s deflected strike for 2-1.

“I am very proud of what the lads achieved this season. We came here to win the trophy and didn’t manage it,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.

“We played a really good first half and didn’t make the most of our chances. Pjanic had a knee problem, Real Madrid raised the tempo and we had a tough 15 minutes.

“We conceded that goal with a deflection and then let go psychologically. We should’ve reacted and defended with nails and teeth, but this is another step we have to take in future to learn from this and mature.”

It was 1-1 at the end of the first half, but Juventus seemed to disappear after the break and looked a completely different team.

“Even if Real Madrid had a very good second half and have excellent players who can change the game at any moment, that second goal knocked the wind out of our sails.

“We should’ve reacted, but you can’t do anything with ifs, buts and shoulds. Life gives us the opportunity to try again next year, so we must calmly analyse where we can improve as a team, in our football and in our mentality.

“We used up a lot more energy in the first half than we should’ve done, because we were too rushed in possession and should’ve shown greater calm. That again is something we need to learn from and improve in future.

“We had the chances to end the first half in the lead, but for the second we cannot complain, as Real Madrid had an excellent performance.

“They raised the tempo, as we were the ones pushing Real Madrid back in the first half, but in the second we couldn’t play our way out of defence and they kept pushing us back.

“At that moment, we should’ve taken out the extra energy to push hard and keep the game open, as we know Real Madrid leave you the chances to score at all times, but we conceded the third goal and that was really damaging.

“We begin next season determined to have another great Champions League campaign, win the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia.

“We need to gather our thoughts, fire up our energy and fight back, because we can learn from this and improve.

“This acts as further motivation to reach the Final again and hopefully win. The squad has everything it takes to do that, the club knows where we need to improve and adjust.

“It’s natural that we started the season with one system and changed midway through, so we rarely had the chance to rest certain players and they had to keep us going for a long time.”

Tags Juventus Max Allegri
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