Allegri hails Juventus’ desire after convincing win at Fiorentina

Massimiliano Allegri saluted his “champions and men of character” as Juventus brushed aside the challenge of Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Strikes from Rodrigo Bentancur and Giorgio Chiellini plus Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty earned Juventus a 3-0 victory as they moved eight points clear at the top of Serie A after 14 fixtures.

Juve have only dropped two points in the top-flight this season and Allegri was full of praise for his troops after this latest success.

He said in quotes on the club’s website: “This is a team made up of champions and men of character.

“To win you must have the desire to make a race more, to gain an extra centimetre, you must have the humility to put yourself on a par with the opponents on the physical plane and these players have it.”

Fiorentina made a decent start but fell behind just after the half hour when Bentancur exchanged passes with Paulo Dybala before finishing beyond goalkeeper Alban Lafont.

Juventus looked to consolidate their lead but both sides had their chances until Chiellini’s scuffed volley nestled in the net in the 69th minute.

Ronaldo’s penalty 10 minutes later – after Edimilson Fernandes was adjudged to have handled in the area – added gloss to the scoreline.

Allegri added: “I asked for attention and compactness and the guys were very good.

“In the second half we left them the ball for about 10 minutes but we managed to defend, we had our chances and we could have gone on 2-0 even earlier. However, the team did well.”

Juventus are firm favourites to seal an eighth consecutive league title but Chiellini has cautioned against taking anything for granted.

The centre-back said: “We started a difficult month in the best way.

“December will be important, at the end of the month we can make an initial assessment. But from here to May, it’s long.”

Fiorentina co-owner Andrea Della Valle admitted they paid for their errors after the Viola’s run of five successive draws was abruptly snapped.

Della Valle said on the club’s website: “I’m especially sorry for the fans. The team had a good start, but unfortunately when you make a mistake with Juventus teams you are immediately punished.

“In the second half we had a a couple of chances to equalise that we did not manage to achieve, and with teams like Juventus you cannot afford it.”