Allegri: This defeat must burn Juventus

Juventus lost 2-1 at Inter Milan for their first loss of the young season. In a frustrating performance for the Bianconeri, the visitors struggled to impose themselves for most of the game. The home side was roared on by a partisan crowd, which saw the nerazzuri bounce back from going down to a Juve goal out of nothing.

After the game, manager Massimiliano Allegri was unhappy by the second toothless performance in a row from his side, despite starting Mario Mandzukic over Gonzalo Higuain -

“After taking the lead, we didn’t even hold it for two minutes.

“We got sluggish and complacent, dropping the intensity levels. This defeat has to burn within us and teach us a real lesson, getting our feet back on the ground.

"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.

“It was a ‘dirty’ game, rough and a real battle. We needed more determination and hunger to bring home the result, especially once we had gone in front.”

Observers felt that Miralem Pjanic struggled in the ‘regista’ role, but the manager disagreed, saying he did well in the deep-lying playmaker position -

“I think Pjanic had an intelligent game in front of the defence. Mario Lemina did well for a few games, but don’t forget he only played nine times last season, so we can’t put too much pressure on him.

“The real problem today is that Juventus were bad on a technical level – we gave the ball away cheaply, misplaced passes and above all conceded our third goal of the season on a corner.

“It’s not easy for strikers when the whole team is playing badly. We need to relax, start preparing for the Cagliari game and put together a run of good results.

“It’s not a tragedy. I was worried we’d have such a strong series of early fixtures, but the lads largely did well. I think every now and then a defeat like this can do us good, if we are smart and humble enough to learn from it.”

There’s nothing that’s more irritating to a Juventus fan than a Derby d’Italia loss, but if this game is a springboard to later success, we’ll swallow the bitter pill and take it.