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Juventus shouldn’t need a slap to wake up, even if the atmosphere on the pitch is sleepy, coach Andrea Pirlo said after the Serie A champions stumbled to a 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona on Sunday.
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Pirlo said he could understand that players could be influenced by showing up in nearly empty stadiums during the COVID-19 pandemic, but added that it was something they would have to adapt to.
“We played a wait-and-see game in the first half, we were not aggressive in midfield although we had the best chances,” said Pirlo, whose team was left behind after an hour.
“There was a good reaction after his goal, but we shouldn’t need a slap to wake us up.”
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“It’s one thing to play in the Champions League with a crowd that raises your levels of attention,” said Pirlo, whose team host Barcelona in elite European competition on Wednesday.
“Tonight there was a more soporific atmosphere, but you need more determination, these things also win games.”
Matches against teams like Verona and Atalanta were always difficult, he added.
“They involve you in one-on-one battles across the field,” he said. “We worked to avoid their high pressure and that worked better in the second half. It was tough against them, but we could have done better.”
Verona coach Ivan Juric was disappointed by his team’s performance in the later stages.
“We did very well for an hour but then we fell down, we didn’t have adequate energy,” said the Croatian, who was furious in an altercation with the Juve bench at the final whistle.
“There were some insults and when they insult me, I react,” he said. “But it stops there.”
Source: espn.co.uk
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