14 August 2017
Massimiliano Allegri admitted that Lazio were the better side as Juventus slipped to a 3-2 defeat in the Italian Super Cup on Sunday night.
"Lazio deserved to win, regardless of the fact that they scored at the death and it was a silly one for us to concede," said the coach after the final whistle.
"We only came into the game 30 minutes from the end. I knew we might have found it tough, but we didn’t get going in the first half. We started to stretch out more and cover the pitch better as the game wore on, but we should have done it from the start."
Allegri also made no bones about the fact that his team should have held on for extra time, having battled back to 2-2.
"We put them on the ropes when they tired, but we should have got to extra time," he said. "It wasn’t to be – sometimes football goes your way, others it doesn’t. It’s a shame to lose the way we did, but it’s not an excuse for us. It was a poor performance."
The Bianconeri boss called on his players to switch their focus to the impending Serie A campaign as soon as possible in the wake of the disappointment.
"We cannot and must not play like that in the league," he said. "This defeat brings us back to earth – it’s not easy to win and it’s important to keep looking at yourself.
"Some of the players aren’t fully fit yet, so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy today. If you digest them in a balanced way, defeats can do you good.
"The season has only just begun and it certainly won’t be simple, but starting on Saturday you’ll see a different Juve side."
