The heat on Max Allegri grew tenfold in Israel after Juventus were defeated 2-0 by Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League.
Juventus’ season has been completely awful thus far, and their trip to Haifa provided possibly the most sad hour and a half of the campaign. A dominant first half by the home team resulted in two well-earned goals, and the visitors were never able to fully recover, bowing to a pitiful 2-0 defeat.
Fans Reaction to Juventus’s loss against Maccabi Haifa
Juventus’ performance improved marginally in the second half, but despite dominating proceedings, they failed to produce any clear-cut chances.
One fan said, “No way Alegri don’t get sacked tonight. Remember people said Ronaldo was their problem”.
Another tweeted, “This team is shameful, players don’t have ideas, dont have a style and its clear they dont have feelings with Allegri. What’s else is needed to sack Allegri. It will be too late”.
A third said, “The most finished club in all the top teams in the world still relying on old system of football and answering old ladies and been beaten by teams for fun”.
Match Report
As if the Italian giants’ issues weren’t terrible enough, Angel Di Maria was pulled off in the first half with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. With the World Cup only a few weeks away, he will have to wait for the findings of a scan.
Allegri must be in serious danger of losing his job, if he isn’t already. Many rumours claim that Juventus lacks the financial means to relieve him of his duties, but they simply cannot continue on the route they have been on in recent months and beyond.
The difference was Omer Atzili’s first-half double, but the margin of victory might have been higher for Maccabi as they earned a legendary triumph that will pile the pressure on under-fire Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri.
In the fourth minute, Frantzdy Pierrot forced Wojciech Szczesny to make a diving save, but the goalkeeper couldn’t prevent the hosts from scoring shortly after when Atzili glanced home Pierre Cornud’s left-wing cross.
Tjaronn Chery then hit the crossbar with a free-kick before Atzili pushed Szczesny into action again at the end of a quick counter-attack as Maccabi piled pressure on Juve.
Pierrot laid off for Atzili to form a fantastic finish into the top-right corner after Juve had been dispossessed in their own half, and the pressure paid off again shortly before halftime.
Juve soon attacked, but Joshua Cohen saved Dusan Vlahovic’s header to keep Maccabi’s two-goal lead at the interval. But neither had the desired effect, as Maccabi held on with remarkable ease, leaving Allegri’s side facing the real possibility of a group-stage departure.
