Juventus in relegation zone as Allegri crisis continues
Carlo Garganese
- 19 Sept 2021 21:55 BST
- 4 min read
Max Allegri’s disastrous start to the season continued on Sunday as Juventus now find themselves in the Serie A relegation zone.
The Bianconeri could only manage a 1-1 draw with Milan in Turin, a result that leaves them languishing in 18th place with just two points from four games.
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Juventus had seemed like a good bet to win their first Serie A game of the season as they led 1-0 at half time.
Allegri’s team dominated the opening 45 minutes and took a deserved lead as Alvaro Morata delightfully dinked the ball over Mike Maignan.
First blood Juventus 👊
Milan caught out as Juventus burst through on the counter attack ⚡
Cool as you like from Morata 🥶 pic.twitter.com/HYBYAw2YIt— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 19, 2021
However, Juventus’s high tempo and intensity dipped considerably after the break as they were forced to try and hang on to what they had.
And Milan earned a deserved equaliser on 76 minutes as Ante Rebic headed home from a corner.
The Rossoneri looked the most likely to win the game thereafter but in the end both teams had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Juventus' disastrous start to season
While Milan find themselves joint top with city rivals Inter on 10 points, Juventus already are at risk of falling out of the Scudetto race.
This is not the start that Allegri expected when he agreed to return to Juventus this summer after two years away.
🤫 Ante Rebic silences the home crowd 💪pic.twitter.com/ALSKOiJryq
— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) September 19, 2021
Allegri won five Scudetti in a row and reached two Champions League finals in his first spell between 2014 and 2019.
The coach was criticised in his last two seasons during that first spell for overly conservative and dour football.
So far that football has continued in his second stint with Juventus playing a counter-attacking game for large spells in matches.
This was apparent in the second half against Milan, as Juve eventually boasted only 45% possession. In the 2-1 loss at Napoli they only had 30% of the ball. Even against lowly Udinese (a 2-2 draw) and newly-promoted Empoli (0-1 defeat), Juventus only had an average of 51% possession.
With Cristiano Ronaldo leaving just days before the end of the transfer window, there are concerns where the goals are going to come from this season. They have scored only five goals in their first four Serie A matches.
Their xG average per 90 minutes was only 1.61 before Sunday; this is a Juventus team struggling to create chances and lacking an attacking identity or cohesion.
It is also a team that is far from rock solid at the back, having failed to keep a clean sheet for 18 games going well back into last season.
Tough times for Allegri and tough time for a Juventus team in crisis.
