Juventus coach Max Allegri was happy with their smash-and-grab 1-0 win at Fiorentina.
Fabio Miretti scored from Juve’s one clear chance created on the day.
Allegri said: “Fiorentina are always complicated to play against, as they attack, they move around, but the lads put in a great performance.
“We scored the goal, suffered more in the first half, in the second Szczesny didn’t have to make a single save, despite all the crosses.
“The regret is that once we beat their first press, we didn’t make the most of those potential counter-attacking situations when the spaces opened up.
“Games must also be won with suffering, with good defending. We needed Kostic to go a little deeper to be on the same level as Rugani to block off Nico Gonzalez, which wasn’t done enough in the first half.
“Fiorentina played a very good game and we can only tip our hats to them. We defended remarkably well in the box and there was only really one risk, that Rugani clearance on the cross. It reminded me of one Andrea Barzagli made in Juventus-Genoa, taking it off the head of the striker behind him.
“Daniele was bound to struggle when he had Chiellini, Barzagli and Bonucci in front of him, but when he was called upon, he played well. He does better with Bremer next to him too. Rugani, Bremer and Gatti can defend in open ground, but they are learning to defend in the box better now too.”
He added, “I am happy for Fabio, as he is criticised sometimes for his performances, when we need to wait for young players to mature and help them through a few errors in the learning process.”
