Maurizio Sarri defender Matthijs de Ligt after his first-half own goal gave Inter Milan the lead in the pre-season penalty shootout win on Wednesday.
A poor display in the opening 45 saw Juventus trail by a goal but they came back through Cristiano Ronaldo’s deflected freekick and eventually went on to win the match. Gianluigi Buffon was one of the noticeable figures, who were forced to make three excellent saves.
“Buffon’s great strength is that he’s a born fighter. He was ready when called upon and was extraordinary in the shoot-out,” Sarri told Sportitalia. “Ronaldo had the usual excellent performance. We can improve a great deal in our attacking moves and that would make it easier for him.
“We can improve, particularly on pressing high to win the ball back when defending. We must focus on defending by going forward, not allowing them to get behind us.
“It’s normal that it takes a while to change that mentality. I made a mistake this morning, as I got them to have a 45-minute training session, but we felt it in this heat.”
Technically the game was only a friendly but I don’t think either side cared too much. It seemed like a proper Serie A game with both teams going at each other.
“I think there were improvements since the game against Manchester United [a 1-0 loss],” Inter Milan boss, Antonio Conte said “The important thing is that the intensity gets into the minds of the players. We need to play intense football and go to press the opposition.
“I have to consider myself very happy with the result, because I have a group of players who are working very hard. Having said that, we lost on penalties and we must always be irritated by defeat, even if it’s in a shoot-out for a friendly. I am starting to see glimpses of an identity and our way of taking to the field. We must continue along this path: head down, work hard. There is much to do.”
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