Allegri wants Juve to stay cool for Milan test
Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri urged his under-fire team to manage its nerves ahead of Sunday's (AEDT) trip to Serie A champion AC Milan.
Juve has only won three of its eight Serie A matches this season, and Allegri has faced severe criticism with the Bianconeri already seven points behind leader Napoli.
While Allegri's team boosted its UEFA Champions League hopes by beating Maccabi Haifa on Thursday (AEDT), it goes to San Siro having failed to win any of its three away league games this term.
Should it fail to beat the Rossoneri, it will be just the second time it has started a Serie A season with a four-match winless run on the road, having done so in 1993-1994.
Allegri believes his team's problems are primarily psychological, saying: "The other day I was reflecting, we made a mistake with Salernitana [in a 2-2 draw last month], regardless of what happened at the end.
"We got too nervous and it doesn't have to happen any more, because the championship is long.
"We wasted a lot of energy and we arrived at Monza not in the ideal conditions to get the three points that would have changed the standings.
"The most important thing is to give continuity, tomorrow is a great game and we have to play it. We need a high level of performance.
"However, they have a strong team, with technical and very fast players. They have [Rafael] Leao who can shift the balance, then they play in front of their fans and San Siro pushes them when full.
"You need personality and clarity. It will be a good test.
"It is Milan-Juventus, we play against the Italian champions and it will be more difficult than usual because they come from a bad defeat [3-0 to Chelsea], and they will want to make up for it."
Allegri led AC Milan to the Scudetto in the 2010-2011 season, but Stefano Pioli ended the Rossoneri's 11-year wait to replicate that triumph in May.
The Juventus boss heaped praise on his counterpart as he added: "He is doing better [than myself], because they have four points more than us.
"I can only congratulate Pioli for the work he is doing, for the championship he won last year, which they haven't won since 2011. The numbers are all on his side."
Milan has avoided defeat in four of its past five Serie A meetings with Juventus (won two, lost two), having lost 13 of its previous 14 league games against the Old Lady (won one).
