Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri has urged his players to remain calm and not lose focus after the humiliating 2-4 defeat at the hands of AC Milan in Serie A on Tuesday at the empty San Siro Stadium. The Old Lady squandered a 2-0 lead, given by Cristiano Ronaldo and Adrien Rabiot, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Frank Kessie, Rafael Leao and Ante Rebic scored for Milan.
“We had sixty good minutes: we were in control of the game, then there was a black out on which there is no need to dwell upon, as we have another match in a few days. It has happened to other teams, because this is a difficult time for everyone, physically and mentally,” Sarri was quoted as saying on the official website of Juventus.
The game saw contrasting two contrasting halves as the opening 45 minutes failed to produce a single breakthrough, while the second witnessed six goals. Juventus opened the scoring in the 47th minute by French international Adrien Rabiot’s left-footed shot, which was his first Serie A goal. Six minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo doubled the advantage.
Milan, who are determined for the taste of European action next season, were reluctant to let Juventus go away with points. They turned the fate of the match in a flash and scored three quick-fire goals in a span of five minutes.
The first one came through a penalty from Milan veteran Ibrahimovic after Leonardo Bonucci’s handball. The former Swedish international was in the heart of the matter for the second goal, as well, and assisted Kessie who brought parity in the match in the 66th minute.
A minute later, the Rossoneri then sent a shockwave to the Juventus camp as they went up in the for the first time with the help of Leao. The final nail in the coffin was hammered by Rebic in the 80th minute which left the Turin-based travellers in utter disbelief.
“We must remain calm, also because the reasons for certain situations are difficult to find. In defence we only suffered after the penalty, before we had not even conceded a shot on goal,” Sarri further said.