Massimiliano Allegri slams Juventus critics after Coppa Italia defeat

The hopes of a treble have escaped from the Serie A side's grasps once again.

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri came out vehemently against his critics after the Old Lady succumbed to an embarrassing 3-0 loss against Atalanta, in midweek at Bergamo in their Coppa Italia tie.

The Bianconeri were after their fifth successive Coppa Italia title before they were knocked out by an overwhelming Atalanta side on the night. Despite being in pole position to win their eighth straight league title, there has been a considerable dip in performances from this flashy Juventus side. The Old Lady were very lavish in their investments in the summer as they broke the bank and brought in Portuguese talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to bolster their side before the start of the season.

However Juventus boss, Allegri cried out for serenity from the critics after the game.

"We won't dramatise the situation. We've lost just one game, where we were beaten heavily. Atalanta and Lazio were two photocopy performances, but in Rome we did well because we didn't go 2-0 down, while things went wrong in Bergamo.

"There are times in a season when you screw up, and they're moments to be managed with total serenity.

"There's been criticism, but the team have picked up a few points since the season started… We apologise for losing in Bergamo, we shouldn't have but we've already won a trophy, the Supercoppa, and we don't want to let the others escape us." said Allegri with reference to their defeat against Atalanta.

The Italian tactician now wants to concentrate on the upcoming UEFA Champions League knockout rounds against Atletico Madrid as the Old Lady are aiming for the crown this season especially with the likes of Ronaldo in their ranks.

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"Atletico are on Juventus' level because they've played in Finals too. If we're knocked out then we'll accept the criticism.

"In Europe there are 6-8 teams who can reach the semi-finals, so four go out. I hear Juventus are already finalists, so if that's the case I'll ask UEFA to send us directly to the Final.

"Football isn't PlayStation. We must try to win like we did in previous seasons, but to do that you need luck as well as skill.

"It's not the case that (Cristiano) Ronaldo has come in and we'll win for sure. It takes respect too. We're working to win, but then there are the others too."

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Atalanta were all over the reigning champions as Duvan Zapata scored twice as both Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala hardly made any impact in the game.

Juventus will host Parma with Serie A action coming back and in all likelihood, the Italian boss must be elated by the fact that his Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic is set to return from injury for this tie.