MY ACCOUNT
Massimiliano Allegri was left frustrated by a “wasted chance” after his Juventus team lost 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain.
Juve’s Champions League campaign looked set to get off to a humbling start at the Parc des Princes when Kylian Mbappe’s double put PSG 2-0 up inside 22 minutes.
Yet some sloppy finishing and poor defending from their hosts allowed Juve back into it in the second half, with Weston McKennie heading home to reduce the deficit.
Gianluigi Donnarumma pulled off a fine stop to deny Dusan Vlahovic and Manuel Locatelli had a late effort blocked close to the line, and while Juve were fortunate not to concede more at the other end, they ultimately gave a strong account of themselves despite losing to PSG for the first time in a competitive fixture.
Allegri previously declared Benfica – who beat Maccabi Haifa 2-0 on Tuesday – as Juve’s main rivals in Group H, but the Bianconeri’s coach was in the end disappointed not to get a result against PSG.
“We played a good game, it’s a wasted chance, we had to be more clear-headed in the final minutes,” Allegri told Canale 5, as reported by Football Italia.
“We had to create more chances on the left, we didn’t do it enough. We could have been dangerous in those situations with McKennie wide on the right. We must improve, it’s a wasted chance.”
Juve lost their opening match to a Champions League campaign for just the second time in their 23 seasons in the competition (W13 D8), also losing to Barcelona in September 2017 (3-0), but after going down fighting – registering just two shots fewer than PSG (13 to 15) and a similar expected goals value (1.1 to 1.5) – midfielder Adrien Rabiot shared his coach’s frustration.
“We started badly, in the first 20 minutes we suffered,” he said, via Football Italia. “We could have done even more, being more clinical. I am a bit angry, especially because of the first half. We conceded two early goals, too early, and the game changed.
“We proved that we could do better in the second half, we had chances, but we must continue to work and think of Benfica at home [in the next game].
“We have to work, find the right system and the right players on the pitch, but I think that tonight we did better than in league games.
“Unfortunately, when we lose there is always criticism for the players and the coach. We reacted well in the second half and I am glad of it, we showed good things but we must work, it’s a long season and we know it.”
