Massimiliano Allegri defends decision to haul off Arkadiusz Milik amid tensions

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri was quick to downplay the tension in his squad after Angel Di Maria questioned why his coach had removed Arkadiusz Milik.

Milik had put Juventus ahead early on, but after Benfica took a 2-1 lead with goals from Joao Mario and David Neres, Allegri opted to shuffle his pack in search of an equaliser.

Di Maria was sent off in the 58th minute, but it was the decision to knock out goalscorer Milik for Nicolo Fagioli with 20 minutes to go who argued with the winger.

Massimiliano Allegri defended the decision, saying he had no choice but to take out a striker

Amazon Prime Video’s cameras caught a candid conversation between Di Maria and Milik at the end, during which the striker was questioned about why he had been sent away.

Milik appears to be shrugging in response and Allegri was asked in his post-match conference why he chose to eliminate Milik as his side looked for an equaliser.

“Angel only had half a training session with the squad and needed playing time to get fit again,” Allegri said first of Di Maria, who was a surprise on the bench to start.

Milik had gotten Juventus off goal on Wednesday night by giving them an early lead

“I knocked out Milik because we were struggling with only two midfielders.

“I had to send off a striker, I knocked out Milik, he seemed more tired.”

It was a miserable start to Group H in the Champions League for Juventus with back-to-back 2-1 defeats.

Losing to Paris Saint-Germain, who are expected to top the group, was one thing, but the Old Lady is now together at the bottom of the standings after a comeback win for Benfica.

“Football is difficult to explain, all we can say is that after a 2-1 defeat the game was over, we risked conceding 3-1 and 4-1,” Allegri added. Sky Sport Italy.

Allegri is under mounting pressure but adamant that all is not lost in their European group

“Late there was an opportunity, but the performance couldn’t have been better. There is no point in explaining and talking now, we can only work hard.

“I’ve already told the team that these moments happen in football, we have to come out of it as a team, with a sense of responsibility.

“We have an important Serie A game coming up against Monza and then we can think about Europe. It will certainly get complicated, but all is not lost.’