‘Fear is good,’ says Sarri as Juventus crash in Serie A finale
MILAN: Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri warned that his side would be back to their attacking best in the Champions League this week despite finishing their Serie A campaign with a 3-1 home defeat against AS Roma on Saturday.
It was Juventus’ second consecutive defeat since sealing a ninth Serie A title in a row, just days before their Champions League campaign resumes against Lyon.
“It can be good for us to have a little fear,” said Sarri as his side target a first elite European title since 1996. “We had an unconscious, inevitable drop after the victory against Lazio.
“The physical energy can be recovered quickly, the psychological one must be reassured immediately, in order to give everything against Lyon.”
Sarri’s side need to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit in their last 16 home game against Lyon.
“I am convinced that the game on Friday will be a great stimulus, and that we’ll go onto the pitch with a completely different attitude,” he added.
Cristiano Ronaldo was rested for the final match with nothing left to play for against fifth-placed Roma.
Argentine Gonzalo Higuain spearheaded the Juventus attack breaking through after just six minutes in the
Allianz Stadium.
But Diego Perotti inspired a Roma fightback setting up Nikola Kalinic to nod in the equaliser after 23 minutes.
A Perotti penalty before the break and a second six minutes into the second half condemned Juventus to their third defeat in four matches.
The team later lifted the trophy at an empty Allianz Stadium as they celebrated winning the ‘Scudetto’ for the 36th time.
INTER FINISH SECOND
Inter Milan took second place with a 2-0 win over direct rivals Atalanta in Bergamo, finishing the season just one point behind Juventus.
“There is still a big gap with Juventus,” said Inter coach Antonio Conte whose side won a three-team battle for second place.
“Juve has a much better structure on and off the pitch. Now the others are trying to work to catch up. We must be smart to understand how to do this, not to go from depression to excessive euphoria.”
Danilo D’Ambrosio nodded in Inter’s first goal after just one minute in Bergamo with Ashley Young doubling their lead after 20 minutes with a stunning curling shot to boost confidence ahead of next week’s Europa League tie against Getafe.
Atalanta’s 17-match unbeaten league run going back to Jan 20 ended.
IMMOBILE TIES RECORD
Lazio finished fourth, equal on points with Atalanta, having been pushing for the title just one point behind Juventus when the season resumed on June 20.
Simone Inzaghi’s side fell 3-1 to Napoli but forward Ciro Immobile scored his 36th goal of the season to equal the record for the most goals in a Serie A campaign.
The 30-year-old Italy international tapped in after 22 minutes to match Argentina forward Higuain’s record of 36 goals, set while playing for Napoli in the 2015-16 season.
Immobile will also win the European Golden Shoe for the continent’s top scorer this term, having overtaken Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski’s tally of 34 in midweek.