Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri was all praises for his new signings Medhi Benatia and Miralem Pjanic, as the Bianconeri ran away 2-1 winners against Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.
Juvnetus striker Paulo Dybala opened the s bcoring early on, before new signing Medhi Benatia doubled the sccore for the Serie A champions 11 minutes later. While Erik Lamela pulled one goal back in the second half, it was too little too late for Spurs to make a comeback.
Allegri was especially pleased with the performance of his new signings Benatia and Pjanic in the game, as he expressed his pleasure at Juventus’ dominance over Pochettino’s side for the first 60 minutes.
“For the first hour, the boys really held their own, showing great determination and keeping a good shape. Regarding (Medhi) Benatia and (Miralem) Pjanic, both put in excellent performances considering this was their first match with us,” Allegri was quoted as saying on Jiuventus’ official website. “There’s great potential to improve their conditions physically and to gear up for a great season ahead.
“It was a good game, another useful run out for the boys and for 60 minutes we played well. It was important to monitor the players’ physical conditions and to see where they are at in terms of technique and tactics.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was pleased that his side showed the character to come back into the game and score a goal in the second half.
“That was a very good test and the second half was very good. Maybe we need to say we were 2-0 down in the first half and 1-0 up in the second half. It’s not about the result, it’s about how we compete and how to get the best performance to be fit for the start of the season. It was a good experience and all positive,” Pochettino was quoted as saying on Spurs’ official website.
The Argentine, who most recently committed his future to Tottenham, had special praise for Erik Lamela, as the Spurs attacker scored Tottenham’s only goal of the game. He said, “Erik Lamela was good and scored a great goal. We played well, much better in the second half. We need to take all the positive things out of this performance, learn and improve.”
Twitter reactions
The match might have been billed as a pre-season friendly, but judging by Allegri’s touch-line antics, it is no surprise that Juventus were the hungrier of the two sides in this game.
Oggi #matchDay
Carichi dai dai dai #JuveOnTour #JuveTottenham @juventusfc pic.twitter.com/oBEAoENraJ— DaNi Juventus ⚪⚫ (@BomberDT9) July 26, 2016
There was a lot of praise for the likes of Pjanic and Benatio, who were involved in the second goal of the match, that was barely attended by around five thousand fans. Here are some of the best reactions we found on Twitter.
Pjanic assist for Benatia: Totti’s reaction. #juvetottenham #iccjuvtot #icc2016 #memecronaca #FinoAllaFine #jvtblive pic.twitter.com/Izw0FaZ271
— Lele Angeli (@LeleAngeli) July 26, 2016
Argentine football in display at #JuveTottenham while Pochetino and Lamela watch. Dybala scores. Pity the crowd. Game televised worldwide.
— Ezequiel Trumper (@EzequielTrumper) July 26, 2016
LEMINA ON FIRE #ICCJUVTOT #JuveTottenham
— Phillip (@PhillipMaizza) July 26, 2016
Biggest stadium in Australia and there are like .5 people watching the #JuveTottenham game
— kaitgay (@kaitGAY) July 26, 2016
While Tottenham fans did praise the likes of Lamela and Victor Wanyama for their good showing, most of the Spurs’ supporters were not altogether happy with the result.
Fair play @ErikLamela has changed the game so quickly, @VictorWanyama is a tank! What a beast #JuveTottenham
— JamesHarris (@harris0816) July 26, 2016
Wanyama’s defensive actions behind the last few chances for Spurs. Lamela profiting on this occasion. 2-1. #JuveTottenham
— Nathan | LFC (@grubbavitch) July 26, 2016
Vincent Janssen is about 5kg overweight – turns like the queen Mary #SpursInOz #JuveTottenham
— Vicas (@tigervicas) July 26, 2016
That’s what happens when the boys are out at crown casino at 4am in the morning #SpursInOz #JuveTottenham
— Vicas (@tigervicas) July 26, 2016
At the end of the day though, it was the Juventus fans who were the happier of the lot — not just because the Bianconeri won this match, but also because they managed to secure the signing of Gonzalo Higuain, who was Serie A’s top scorer last season with 36 goals from 35 appearances.
Higuain loves Napoli’s color? No problem! #juvetottenham #iccjuvtot #icc2016 #memecronaca #FinoAllaFine #jvtblive pic.twitter.com/rRp1eGMypv
— Lele Angeli (@LeleAngeli) July 26, 2016
