MAURIZIO SARRI slammed his Juventus stars for refusing to “respect his strategy” after a 3-1 defeat at Lazio.
Cristiano Ronaldo put the Old Lady 1-0 ahead in Rome but they collapsed after conceding on the stroke of half-time.
Maurizio Sarri was fuming with his Juventus starsCredit: Getty – Contributor
Ronaldo’s side crashed to a 3-1 defeat at LazioCredit: Reuters
Juan Cuadrado was controversially sent off for a straight red card on 69 minutes and just five minutes later they were behind through Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Felipe Caciedo then wrapped up the three points with a goal in the dying embers to inflict Juve’s first defeat of the campaign.
Sarri, who was heavily criticised on occasions at Chelsea for his style of play, was fuming at the full-time whistle.
He said: “Many players didn’t respect the strategy and ended up in the wrong position. We paid for those distractions.
“Dybala was supposed to be closer to the ball and Bernardeschi drifted into a more central position. These were some things we had said before the game and they didn’t happen.”
The Italian also hit out at the referee’s decision to send Cuadrado off the field.
He added: “I think we were very good in the first half, it could have been perfect had it not been for that goal just before the break.
“In the second half, it was dominated by incidents, including the sending off.
“I think it was a foul for the yellow card, the red one was a bit exaggerated, but we lost control of the situation and the opportunity to reach the first place.”
Juventus’ dominance at the top is under real threat from Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan this season.
They have won the last eight Serie A championships but sit two points behind their rivals who occupy top spot.
Inter are looking for their first league title since 2010.
Lazio put Juventus to the sword with a 3-1 victoryCredit: Getty – Contributor
Watch Ronaldo block Dybala’s goal-bound shot which would have won game for Juventus
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
