Massimiliano Allegri addressed Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Juventus after their shock 1-0 defeat to Empoli on Saturday.
Ronaldo reached an agreement to re-join Manchester United last week after informing Juve officials of his desire to leave the club, with his three-year stint in Turin set to officially come to an end before the summer transfer window closes on August 31.
The Portuguese made a cameo from the bench during Juve's 2-2 draw with Udinese on the opening weekend of the new Serie A season, but he was absent for their trip to Empoli who ultimately earned a 1-0 victory against Allegri's side.
What's been said?
The Juve boss acknowledges Ronaldo has left a big hole in his squad, but remains confident they will bounce back and enjoy a successful 2021-22 campaign.
“Cristiano spent three years at Juventus, he scored goals, which he is very good at, he’s an extraordinary player, but we cannot think about Ronaldo from now on," Allegri told DAZN post-match.
Next Match
"I have a fine squad, we simply must realise that we can’t just dominate every match. We need to come together and this will help us for the future. I am optimistic, always.”
The Italian tactician added on what went wrong against Empoli: "The lads had started strong, they conceded at the first mistake playing out, then got too hasty. We must have the patience to take it calmly, play as a team and not try to resolve things as individuals.
“We need to work on our solidity, but these two slip-ups will inevitably do us good. This is a strong squad, it has values and gradually they will emerge. Empoli leave a lot of spaces on the wings, but the things we really did badly were technical errors, because we were frenetic.
"We can’t assume we will take the lead and control every game, we need the calm that a great team has, knowing we can overturn it.”
What's next for Juve?
Juve will now have some time to reflect on their poor start to the season as the international break comes into effect, with Allegri's side not due back in action again until September 12 away at Napoli.
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