Milan’s Allegri under pressure again

ROME. AC Milan will hold a closed training camp after they slumped to their fifth defeat in Serie A this season, prompting a cascade of boos from fans in the sparsely populated San Siro and putting pressure on manager Massimiliano Allegri.Goals from Fiorentina’s Juan Vargas and Borja Valero handed Allegri’s side their fifth defeat in Serie A and left them in 10th on 12 points, 16 away from the Champions League places. Fiorentina moved into fourth place.Fans vented their anger at the players and the club hierarchy with a cascade of boos and whistles and also unveiled a banner criticising the club’s transfer policy, which they feel has left them short in defence and midfield.“It’s not a question of what we did in the transfer market, we’ve had a lot of injuries and we need to rediscover our balance,” said Allegri. “A team can’t play as badly as we did.”Milan face Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, but with no-one expecting anything from the Nou Camp all eyes are on Sunday’s trip to bottom side Chievo.Anything but a win there could push the hierarchy to act. “Our performances against Barcelona, Udinese and Parma make me believe that we can recover,” added Allegri.The defeat leaves them 16 points adrift of third-place Juventus and the last UEFA Champions League qualifying spot, with the pressure on coach Massimiliano Allegri likely to increase.Elsewhere in Serie A, France international Paul Pogba scored the lone goal for Juventus in a 1-0 road win at Parma and second-place Napoli continued their positive run of form in a 2-1 home win against Catania thanks to goals from Jose Callejon and Marek Hamsik.

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Milan’s Allegri under pressure again