Despite Juventus losing 2-1 to Hellas Verona, Bianconeri boss Maurizio Sarri wasn’t too worried by his team’s performance, but more about their mental state.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave Juve the lead, but Fabio Borini and Giampaolo Pazzini turned the game on it’s head to secure a memorable win for the Mastini.
“I’m not worried about the performance,” Sarri told the press. “I expected a game like this, it was easy to predict.
“It was easy to predict the pressure they’d put on us, which would then give us three-on-three situations, which happened.
“The goal which tied the game worries me, it is conceding like that that makes you angry. It seems a bit careless, and we can’t afford that at this point in the season.”
With questions over Juventus’ intensity, Sarri brushed off any suggestions that there were fitness issues with his side.
“I think a players legs are at the disposal of the brain,” Sarri stated. “I’ve never seen an undetermined team have a great physical performance.
“We should first think about what’s going on in the head.
“We knew that the pressure they would place on us, would mean we’d have to come out from the back, and would give us the chance to create opportunities.
“That said, you can’t gift them a goal like we did. You have to start thinking that this group [of players] have won with big margins, 10-point leads and the like.
“Now they have to realise that the future will be different and it’ll be a point for point title race.
“Let’s see if we can make jump. We are Juventus and should have brought home the points.”
Sarri was complimentary of the victorious Verona side, paying particular attention to their pressing game.
“They gave us some trouble with the pressure they put us under,” Sarri went on.
“They had the confidence to leave a three versus three situation in defence.
“We gave them a goal which put them back on track and with that positive momentum they completed the comeback.”
