Max Allegri says Juventus were nervous agaist Sassuolo, refuses to blame young side

After Juventus slipped to their fourth loss of the Serie A season, manager Massimiliano Allegri insisted that there was still hope for his side. He expressed frustration about the poor first half the side played when they conceded the goal that counted as the eventual winner.

"We committed five fouls around the area before we conceded the goal. Then we were down to 10 and we were nervous.

"With many young people in the middle of the field, it can be hard work, but this is not an excuse.

"Everyone is responsible - even me. We must do better. We had a good reaction, and we must be happy with this, but also angry about what was done in the first half."

After this loss, the Bianconeri now stand in twelfth position in the Calcio table, eleven points behind leaders Roma. Allegri acknowledged that after a couple of good performances, his side could ill-afford to drop more points today.

"Tonight was worth so much. We had to avoid losing more ground.

"We lost to having received a shot on goal from a free-kick, and this says a lot about what we did."

As the interview continued, Allegri continued to get angrier.

"I am very bitter at the way we interpreted this game. We were irritable, gave free kicks away repeatedly around the box and didn't hold out under Sassuolo's pressure.

"You win and lose games on details. We lost because of a free kick and that's because we gave away a free kick in a position we shouldn't have done.

"We also went down to 10 men and have clearly not improved in terms of responsibility. Serie A is extremely tough and in order to win you need to give 100 per cent with the right attitude in every single game.

"We have to get out of this situation and we will do with work. Now we have to prepare for Saturday's game and then we'll think about the Champions League.

"I am the first person responsible for this. We must do better and the many young players in midfield are not an excuse. We've got the likes of Paul Pogba and Mario Lemina in there, this squad has enough strength in depth to do better.

"We reacted well in the second half, but that just makes us even angrier at what happened in the first half.

"There are games where you have to understand what awaits you. Tonight was worth a great deal to us, the first half was tragic and disastrous, yet we still only conceded one shot on goal from a free kick.

"It's a recurring issue, as we conceded against Frosinone at the 92nd minute on a corner, here to a free kick, at Roma to a free kick. We have to limit the number of fouls we commit around the box and a lot of that is down to a lack of experience."

Reports said that Allegri met with Juventus Sporting Director Fabio Paratici and Director General Beppe Marotta in the locker room immediately after the game, as pressure continues to mount on the manager.