Rome, July 24 Juventus head coach Maurizio Sarri believes his team is "physically and mentally tired" after falling to a surprise loss to Udinese in the ongoing Serie A competition.
With a six-point lead before Thursday's match, Juventus needed just one win to clinch the title with three rounds remaining.
The Bianconeri looked to have secured the Scudetto when Matthijs de Ligt gave his side the lead, but Ilija Nestorovski and Seko Fofana ruined Juventus's party as Udinese won the match 2-1. As a result, Juventus will have to wait a little longer to secure their ninth consecutive Serie A title.
"We lost order, even after the draw, because we wanted to win at all costs. In this way we took the game to a dangerous level, and after the 90th minute, we lost it," Sarri was quoted as saying by the club's official wesbite after the match.
"In this period we are physically and mentally tired, and it is a problem common to all. For this reason, being aggressive is something more tiring and, therefore, now what matters most is order, because the inertia of a game changes very easily. It is difficult to keep it throughout the match and sometimes, like today, we lose it," he added.
Looking ahead to the future, the head coach said: "At the moment I am not thinking about the Champions League, in my mind there is only Sampdoria and Sunday's match: we have to be "on the ball", and then we'll think about the Cup."
Juventus still have chance to be crowned before the final round of matches if they can beat Sampdoria at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
( With inputs from IANS )