Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri criticised his players for letting their guard down and losing 2-1 at arch-rivals Inter after taking the lead in the second half at the San Siro on Sunday.
Inter captain Mauro Icardi headed in from a corner two minutes after Stephan Liechtsteiner had given Juve the lead, and substitute Ivan Perisic glanced home the winner to end the champions’ 100 per cent start to the Serie A season.
“We couldn’t even hold on to the lead for two minutes,” Allegri told reporters as he prepares the team to host Cagliari in another league match tomorrow.
“We were sluggish and complacent and dropped our intensity. This defeat has to burn within us and teach us a real lesson and get our feet back on the ground.”
Allegri also defended his decision to start without €90 million signing Gonzalo Higuain, who came on for Mario Mandzukic with 16 minutes left to no avail.
“For me our preparation was correct, and next time we will play without Mario. We have had top opponents in our first four games and, although it would have been wonderful to have taken 12 points from them, this is not a tragedy,” said the coach.
“It was a dirty, rough game and a real battle. We needed more determination and hunger to bring home the result, especially once we had gone in front.”
Allegri believes there is plenty of room for improvement as they start a run of three fixtures in the space of nine days.
It was a fine performance from the whole team... the whole side has to move in the same way, but Inter need to do it every week- Frank de Boer
He added: “We now have a run of important matches and we need to return to winning ways, remembering that we have to do the business on the pitch in order to secure the results we want.”
Inter coach Frank de Boer praised his side for not letting their heads drop after conceding the first goal at the San Siro.
“We talked a lot about this, as we have gone behind and lost our heads three or four times already this season. It’s even worse if you’re playing against Juventus,” said the Dutchman.
“This time we stayed focused and did not stray from our ap-proach and it really paid off.”
De Boer had endured a difficult start with Inter since succeeding Roberto Mancini in the close season, taking four points from their first three league games and losing 2-0 at home to Israel’s Hapoel Beer Sheeva in the Europa League.
The former Ajax Amsterdam coach said they still had work to do to ensure their victory over Juventus was not a one-off as they look to secure a third straight league victory when they travel to Empoli tomorrow.
“It was a fine performance from the whole team and that’s how it should work, the whole side has to move in the same way, but Inter need to do it every week,” he said.
“It’s always nice after victories like this against the best side in Italy to think of such matters, but the most important thing is to prepare for our next league game with Empoli.”
With Juventus losing at the San Siro, Napoli’s 3-1 win over Bologna saw them climb to the top of Serie A.
Despite losing Higuain to Juve, summer signing Arkadiusz Milik has been a revelation, with four goals in as many games.
Genoa will be the next side to attempt to stop the 22-year-old and a Napoli side who remain the only Serie A side yet to taste defeat.
Roma host new-boys Crotone, who earned their first-ever Serie A point at the weekend, while Manchester City loanee Joe Hart will look to keep another clean sheet when Torino face Pescara.
Milan host Lazio at the San Siro in the only fixture tonight and Vincenzo Montella’s men will aim to build on a dramatic win at Sampdoria last Friday which snapped their two-game losing streak.
Serie A fixtures
Playing today: 20.45 Milan vs Lazio.
Tomorrow: 18.30 Bologna vs Samp-doria. 20.45 Atalanta vs Palermo; Chievo vs Sassuolo; Empoli vs Inter; Genoa vs Napoli; Juventus vs Cagliari; Pescara vs Torino; Roma vs Crotone; Udinese vs Fiorentina.