Juventus coach Max Allegri rejected his critics after their 2-2 draw with Atalanta.

Andrea Cambiaso and Arkadiusz Milik had Juve 2-1 ahead before Teun Koopmeiners found an equaliser for La Dea.

Allegri said: “I think we had a good performance against a good Atalanta team, they did well with that free kick and the second goal, whereas we could've defended better.

“We had more determination, grit and technique too in the second half. We need to improve our defending when we are in the lead, because the same thing happened against Napoli last week and before that too. We are conceding goals too easily.

“It involves working on the situations, but there are also moments in a campaign and we need to focus on the positives. Let us not forget today we earned a point over Bologna, kept Atalanta 11 points behind us. Let us not forget the objective is to finish in the top four.

“The lads did very well in an atmosphere where part of the stadium did not help us, especially in the first half. There are areas where we can do better, but the effort and desire was never lacking from this team."

He also said: “We all have an objective and the fans must recognise too that they want to see us in the Champions League. The team might be criticised, so can the coach, but nobody can reproach us for our efforts.

“We try to win every game, it's not always possible, and qualifying for the Champions League is the objective. It doesn't matter if we seal it with the last minute of the last game, the important thing is that we get it.

“These lads meanwhile are maturing and building up a thick skin, which you need at Juventus."