'Unstoppable' Tévez hailed after Juventus win
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Article summary
Two-goal Carlos Tévez was the name on everyone's lips after Juventus's victory over Malmö FF, with all agreeing he was the difference between the sides.
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• Malmö pair Magnus Eriksson and Filip Helander label Carlos Tévez "unstoppable"
• Tévez says Juventus cannot sit back now and must avoid the mistakes of last season
• Åge Hareide says the Argentinian was the difference between the sides
• Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri identifies room for improvement
• Allegri admits Malmö caused his side problems in the first half
Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus coach
Tévez is an important player, important to the whole team. Fortunately he plays for Juventus. But aside from Tévez, we played well in the second half. We were a bit disorganised in the first half and we need to improve on this. Champions League games can be more physical so you've also got to have the patience to wait for your chance without conceding.
We were a bit hasty at times, but that can happen in your first Champions League game of the season; you play different opponents. Malmö did really well, especially in the first half with tactics which cancelled us out, but then when we found a better organisation in the second half, we found the way to goal.
This team has got what it takes. We need to improve the way we retain possession. [Fernando] Llorente worked very well for the team; [Kwadwo] Asamoah did well in a position he's not played in for many years. I still think we've got to improve a lot, though.
Carlos Tévez, Juventus forward
Malmö played with three strong defenders in the middle and I could not fight them physically; Llorente did that job instead. I'm really happy with the goals. However, we must think one game at the time as it's going to be very difficult. Last season's disappointment must be a lesson for us. We have to be focused if we want to qualify. I know that [Andrea] Pirlo is phenomenal with free-kicks, today I tried to imitate him and it went well.
Giorgio Chiellini, Juventus defender
It was not an easy game. After last season's experience we know there are no games are easy in this competition. It was important to start with a win. We are all happy for Carlos's goals after his long wait.
It was difficult to find space against Malmö's defence, they were aggressive and well organised. They tired in the second half and we managed to score through Tévez and create more opportunities, especially with [Stephan] Lichtsteiner on the right.
Åge Hareide, Malmö coach
I was satisfied with the first 60 minutes, up until Tévez's first goal. We were very disciplined in the first half. The difference between the sides today was Carlos Tévez, but Juventus have quality players all the way through their side, from the back to the front, and they have even more to come with their injured players.
We wish we could have had some of our missing players back to strengthen our side, too. I think Juventus will go through, they have the experience of winning the league three times, they get this experience. They have many national team players in their side so they will do well.
Magnus Eriksson, Malmö midfielder
Tévez really made the difference today. He is a great player, but Juve have many great players, not only him. I think we played a good game. You can't be happy when you lose but you also have to be honest and admit that they were better. It was very difficult to defend for 90 minutes as we did in the first half.
We started to defend too deep in the second half and everything became more complicated. I had a big chance in the first half but [Gianluigi] Buffon made a great save. As I said they have several great players and Buffon is certainly one of those. We still have five games to play, we are going to try to take as many points as possible and let's see what happens.
Filip Helander, Malmö defender
Tévez is a fantastic player, world class. In some situations he really is unstoppable. We played well defensively in the first half, but Juventus were pushing hard so we got a bit tired. Than Juventus scored a superb goal and everything became even more difficult for us.
Our game plan was to defend well, we did it for a while but when Juventus scored, we could not reply. I'm sure we will make it difficult for the others side, especially when we will play at home. It was very exciting for us to make our bow in the group stage at a stadium like this. It was a dream come true; hopefully we can make the best of this experience.