Juventus manager Max Allegri has hailed midfielder Paul Pogba after he made an impact off the bench in the Bianconeriโs 1-1 draw against Sevilla.
The Old Lady had conceded first in the first half and didnโt put in a great performance. But in the 97th minute of the game, Pogbaโs headed assist set up Federico Gatti, who headed into the open goal for a vital equaliser. It was Gattiโs second goal in the competition as he also scored a huge goal against Sporting in the previous round.
After the game, Allegri hailed Pogbaโs 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): โWhen he plays in the opponentโs half, he becomes an extraordinary player. If he was in optimal condition, obviously I would start him. He made a big contribution.โ
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.
โWe never discuss and never say anything about the referees. We have to accept their decisions. The positive thing is that we didnโt leave the field and we didnโt concede the second goal, the team was good at continuing to play. The referees will see if it was a penalty or not.โ
The second leg will be played at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan next Thursday and it isnโt known to be an easy place to go to in Europe.
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Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN
