Motta off to a losing start, Allegri ‘amused’ by talk of his sacking
Milan:former Italian international Thiago Mo a’s reign as Bologna coach started with a disappointing 1-0 home defeat in Serie A against Empoli on Saturday.
Moa, 40, took over from Sinisa Mihajlovic this week with the club struggling with just one win from seven games this campaign.
Filippo Bandinelli broke the deadlock with quarter of an hour to go in Bologna following a fumble from home goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.
Marko Arnautovic was denied the equaliser by the post minutes later with Joshua Zirkzee hi ng the crossbar late. Bologna fell to their third defeat in seven matches, as they slide towards the relegation zone. Empoli claimed their first win of the campaign to move up to 11th.
Brazil-born Moa, a former FC Barcelona, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-germain midfielder, started his coaching career in 2018, with spells at the PSG under-19 team, and Italian clubs Genoa and Spezia.
Meanwhile, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said Saturday he was ‘amused’ by calls for his sacking from some fans ater a dismal start to the season.
“I’m happy that we’re talking about the dismissal of Allegri again, I had missed it a lot. I missed it because it amuses me,” Allegri told a press conference on the eve of Sunday’s Serie A game at Monza.
“Everyone makes mistakes, me first, I certainly make more than the others, but right now we need clarity,” he added.
Weighed down by injuries, Juventus are eighth in Serie A and have lost their first two matches in the Champions League.
“It is normal that we judge my work and that of the staff in the light of results, but I am confident and calm,” continued Allegri, who led Juve to five Serie A titles between 2015 and 2019, and two runners-up finishes in the Champions League.
The 55-year-old is in his second spell as Juventus coach, having been sacked in 2019 ater the team’s early Champions League exit.
The former AC Milan manager returned to the Turin giants in 2021 ater Juve spent two seasons under the helm of first Maurizio Sarri and then Andrea Pirlo.