Angel Di Maria was left dumbfounded by Max Allegri's decision to take off Arkadiusz Milik in Juventus' defeat to Benfica.
The Portuguese side secured a 2-1 win in Turin to keep up their 100% record with Joao Mario and David Neres getting on the scoresheet. Milik had put the hosts ahead within five minutes, but was taken off with 20 minutes to go and replaced by Nicolo Fagioli.
Di Maria, who himself was introduced from the bench, confronted Milik at full-time and the cameras picked up the Argentine quizzing his teammate on why the manager brought him off. The reverse means Juventus' hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages are hanging by a thread.
Allegri was quizzed on his tactical tweak after the contest and said: "Angel only had half a training session with the squad and needed playing time to regain fitness. I took Milik off because we were struggling with only two midfielders. I had to take a striker off, I took Milik off, who seemed more tired."
Home supporters at the Allianz Stadium made their feelings known after the full-time whistle as the Old Lady stood in front of a chorus of jeers with fans making their displeasure known. The squad gathered in front of the home faithful as they faced the music after the defeat.
Max Allegri - the last man to lead Juventus to a final - is back in charge for a second spell but saw his side dumped out last term at the hands of Villarreal. The Italian is in the midst of rebuilding his squad, adding the likes of Dusan Vlahovic, Paul Pogba and Di Maria over the past 12 months. However, he is already having to play down the idea of him leaving the Turin outfit for a second time.
He said: "It's difficult to explain. In this moment, it's useless to talk. We have to keep quiet and work... Very important game on Sunday... I do not feel at risk at all." Allegri also added: "We need to work hard and change the situation — also, we have many important players injured."
The Italian told Sky Italia : “I already told the team these moments happen in football, we need to emerge from them as a team, with a sense of responsibility. We have an important Serie A game coming up against Monza and after that we can think about Europe. It will certainly be complicated, but not all is lost.”
Club stalwart Leonardo Bonucci said on the fan boos: “It’s only right the fans jeer us, there’s not much to argue with there. We lost a game that we absolutely should not have lost. It’s perfectly fair that we are jeered. I am the captain, I have to take responsibility. We are going through a period where we struggle to do anything.”
Juventus take on Monza this weekend, looking to close on those at the top of Serie A. The Bianconeri, currently sitting in eighth, are four points off top spot. Club director Maurizio Arrivabene was approach by one fan prior to Wednesday night's game who called on him to sack Allegri. That decision, which was not entertained, would be costly one with Allegri currently under contract until 2025.
