Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri has said that his team lacked the sharpness for individual skills to make the difference as he lost another title in Italy; the Coppa Italia to his former club, Napoli.
The Bianconerri were stopped from winning their 14th Coppa Italia title by the Pertonopei that looked sharper than them. The trophy is Napoli’s first in six years. Napoli won the game via penalties after the game ended 0-0 in regular time.
The former Chelsea boss, whose only trophy won so far is the Europa League with the Blues stated that Juventus does not have tactical problems, but were again seemed sluggish and inconsistent, as seen against AC Milan. They have failed to score in the second straight game after the restart of football action in the country three months after the coronavirus hiatus. Ronaldo lost a spot-kick that would have opened their goal account on restart against Milan, but the team progressed on 1-1 aggregate courtesy of an away goal.
They would have even lost the game during the regular period, but all thanks as only Gigi Buffon heroics prevented the Partenopei from winning in regulation time.
The game was eventually decided on a penalty shoot-out, and Sarri lost another trophy. He had lost two Finals this season; the last was in the Italian Supercup in December to Lazio.
Sarri: The club, team, and fans disappointed
Speaking to RAI, Sarri said the club, the lads and the fans, are disappointed for not winning, but the team cannot do much more at the moment, because it lacks sharpness.
In the absence of some players, the tactician said he had to make some decisions as usual due to the team’s fitness levels, which are not optimal.
“We keep the ball well but lack the sharpness to turn that into dangerous scoring opportunities. We are struggling to get past opposition players when taking men on; we have a team built on individuals who can usually do that very well. I don’t think we lack determination, because we were concentrated for 90 minutes, and you can’t do that without determination.
“I think the problem is the characteristics because these are players accustomed to taking men on, and at the moment, that’s just not coming off.”
Speaking on the performance of star player in the game, Sarri, perhaps expected him to create something by running at opponents, said he is in the same shape as the others, like Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa.
“I didn’t say much to the players after the game. I was angry and disappointed just like them, so at these moments, it’s best to stay silent. We’ll talk better tomorrow morning.”
