Morata order knocks Allegri's socks off

MILAN (Reuters) - Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was livid after forward Alvaro Morata was ordered to change his socks during Tuesday's Champions League match at Borussia Moenchengladbach. Allegri had no complaints about a second-half sending off for midfielder Hernanes in the 1-1 draw but lambasted match officials after his team were briefly reduced to 10 men in the first half. Morata appeared to be wearing slightly different coloured socks to the rest of the team and was told to change them by the referee. "I'm very angry about one thing which is that we spent three minutes with 10 men while someone had to change his socks," Allegri told Mediaset Premium. "I know there are rules that everyone's kit has to be the same colour. But, at the end of the day, this is not a fashion show; we're here to play football, for heaven's sake." Allegri also responded to criticism about his new-look side, which has been a pale shadow of the Juventus team which has won the last four Serie A titles and reached the Champions League final last season. "The lads are very highly motivated, it’s a season in which we’ve had a few hitches, like injuries for instance," he said. "We also need to remember that this is a young side, some of them had only made a few appearances in the Champions League. "That’s why we needed to stay calm, not get nervous and develop together. Competitive edge is all well and good but ultimately there’s a ball out there and you need to use it well.” Despite their domestic problems, Juventus are second in Group D with eight points from four games, five ahead of Sevilla, and with one foot in the last sixteen. "I’d have taken this position if you’d offered it to me at the start of the season,” said Allegri. (Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)