Juventus director Beppe Marotta insists Leonardo Bonucci’s row with Max Allegri was “over-emphasised, as these things happen in every family.”

The defender was dropped for Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League victory away to Porto as punishment for exchanging insults with his Coach on the touchline.

Juventus director Beppe Marotta insists Leonardo Bonucci’s row with Max Allegri was “over-emphasised, as these things happen in every family.”

The defender was dropped for Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League victory away to Porto as punishment for exchanging insults with his Coach on the touchline.

“Bonucci is the usual Bonucci. What the media tried to call the Bonucci incident was closed. We have another test tonight and he is one of the protagonists, as always,” Marotta told Mediaset Premium ahead of the game with Empoli.

“We didn’t particularly need to mediate between Bonucci and Allegri. All the players are present in locker room situations. Our community has rules that need to be respected.

“We did not put anyone on trial, we just clarified certain aspects in the best possible way, as all good families do. The idea of ‘it’s either me or him’ was dreamed up by the media. The job of the club is to support the Coach and team, intervening when necessary. These things happen in a family, it’s just in this case it was in front of the cameras and therefore was over-emphasised.

“We know that March and April are the most important months of the campaign, as there are so many fixtures jammed together in three different tournaments. We know what we have to do, regardless of the opponent.

“On paper Empoli might seem like an easy team to beat, but that’s not the case. We need to play with the guts worthy of the Serie A leaders.”

This evening Mattia Caldara bagged a brace for Atalanta to stun Napoli 2-0 at the Stadio San Paolo. Juventus have already bought Caldara and left him on loan in Bergamo until June 2018.

“I was able to glimpse a bit of that performance and he did very well. He is improving, he plays in an organised side with a great Coach like Gian Piero Gasperini, so this experience in the provinces will do him good.

“We are happy and also proud that we made this purchase early.”

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