Juve’s Simone Zaza (centre) battles for the ball with Juan Murillo.

Inter coach Roberto Mancini focused on the positives after his side drew 0-0 with Juventus on Sunday.

Victory at the Derby d’Italia would have seen the Nerazzurri reclaim top spot in Serie A but Inter had to settle for a point as their winless run at home against Juve continued.

Inter, who had not beaten Juve in their last six attempts at the San Siro, have failed to win in their last three league games after starting the campaign with five straight wins.

“Overall, I was satisfied,” Mancini told Sky Italia. “It was a game of few chances.

“We went a little too deep in the second half and struggled compared to the first.

“I think everyone fell away in the second half because fatigue set in. At the end of the day, such a tough and hard-fought match was good.”

Inter almost scored in the opening half but Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon tipped Marcelo Brozovic’s effort onto the crossbar. They had just one more shot on goal the rest of the way.

“With strikers there are moments when things go well and other times when they struggle,” Mancini said.

“Mauro Icardi has to do better but I’m sure he will get his goals eventually.”

The outcome left Inter in third place in Serie A, level on 15 points with second-place Roma and one point adrift of league leaders Fiorentina, who lost 2-1 at Napoli.

“We are in second place and only one point off the top, so we’re in a good position,” Mancini said.

“This year it will be a very difficult campaign for everyone, as every single match requires a battle, even ones that might have seemed easy in other terms.

“It’s a very balanced league. I’m sure Juventus will be back challenging for the scudetto within a couple of months.”

Juve, who were also denied by the woodwork on Sunday when Sami Khedira hit the post in the second half, have dropped to 14th place, 10 points adrift Fiorentina.

Defending champions Juve have had their worst start to the campaign since 1980-81.

“I don’t know if we’ll win the scudetto,” Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri said.

“But we will definitely get back into the race – that’s for certain.

“I don’t want us to get caught up in the anxiety of the situation now, as there’s a long way to go.

“Our plan is to be challenging by the start of March and then we’ll see about a final push. Getting one point here doesn’t move the table much, but it stops Inter breaking away.

“We kept a clean sheet and put in a strong performance.”

Allegri, whose side host Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League in midweek before taking on Atalanta in Serie A, knows his team has plenty of room for improvement.

“We have to realise that a team that scores nine goals in eight games cannot win the scudetto,” he said. “So we’ve got to improve our finishing.”