Sarri: Good game for Juve, despite some major mistakes

Juventus had to struggle harder than expected to beat a well-drilled Bologna side 2-1 yesterday.

It took two fortunate goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Miralem Pjanic to get the three points, though the visitors were in the game right until the final whistle, with Gianluigi Buffon having to make an excellent save after Bologna had hit the crossbar seconds earlier.

Speaking after the game, manager Maurizio Sarri struck a much calmer note than most Bianconeri were feeling at the time.

“We watched it again afterwards and Bologna players were offside, so it wouldn’t have counted anyway.

“I told the lads we mustn’t try to control a game, sit on a lead or be comfortable, because otherwise we leave ourselves in these risky situations to the very end.”

Juve had spells of dominance throughout the game, but looked careless late on to create the nervy ending.

“The sensation is that we moved the ball quicker after the break and Bologna were getting there a fraction of a second later. I don’t know if that’s because we did better or they were tired, having worked so hard in the first half to contain us.

“There’s a fine line between passing the ball effectively and just keeping ephemeral possession. In the last five minutes, we did it badly, as we lost the ball in banal fashion in our final third. We need to work on the details.

“It was a good game, but blighted by three or four horrible errors that we have to work on. I need to ensure the players realise we keep the ball for a reason, so possession is never kept just for the sake of it. We go into maintenance mode and that is never good.”

Federico Bernardeschi again got the nod for the trequartista role.

“He has very good stamina, so tracking back to defend suits him. It is an important role, as it allows the two strikers to work less, but admittedly it does make him less effective upfront and he lacked a bit of sharpness in front of goal this evening.”

Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic made his return to the bench after a second round of chemotherapy and Sarri was pleased to see him.

“I talked to him from a distance, as I have a cold and don’t want to do him any damage. It gives me great joy to see him on the bench, the touchline and the training ground.”