Juventus manager Max Allegri has hailed midfielder Paul Pogba after he made an impact off the bench in the Bianconeri’s 1-1 draw against Sevilla.
The Old Lady had conceded first in the first half and didn’t put in a great performance. But in the 97th minute of the game, Pogba’s headed assist set up Federico Gatti, who headed into the open goal for a vital equaliser. It was Gatti’s second goal in the competition as he also scored a huge goal against Sporting in the previous round.
After the game, Allegri hailed Pogba’s impact off the bench and stated that he would play him from the start if the Frenchman was fully sharp.
He told Sky (via TMW): “When he plays in the opponent’s half, he becomes an extraordinary player. If he was in optimal condition, obviously I would start him. He made a big contribution.”
There was also some controversy in the game around refereeing as Adrien Rabiot was brought down in the box and seemed to have been fouled. Allegri stated that they should let referees do their job and get on with the game.
“We never discuss and never say anything about the referees. We have to accept their decisions. The positive thing is that we didn’t leave the field and we didn’t concede the second goal, the team was good at continuing to play. The referees will see if it was a penalty or not.”
The second leg will be played at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan next Thursday and it isn’t known to be an easy place to go to in Europe.
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Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN
