Angry Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has demanded a quick improvement from his Italian champions who have still not won at home this season.
Allegri criticised his players for failing to read the game properly against Serie A debutants Frosinone on Wednesday. Juve, who appeared to have three points in the bag, conceded a stoppage-time goal to draw 1-1 with a team that had lost their first four matches of the campaign.
"I'm angry because we must improve quickly," said Allegri ahead of Saturday's visit to Napoli. "We're shipping goals from the first opportunity that falls the way of our opponents. "You simply cannot concede from a corner with two minutes remaining. We keep trying to force the play in instances when we should be slowing things down."
Napoli, like Juve, have also won only once in the league this season and were held 0-0 by Carpi, another team making their top-flight debut, on Wednesday. Juve's attempt to win a fifth successive title appears to have hit the rocks as they have slipped 10 points behind leaders Inter Milan.
The champions, who had kept the core of their team intact over the last four seasons, have been forced to rebuild following the departure of play-maker Andrea Pirlo, midfielder Arturo Vidal and marksman Carlos Tevez. They have also been hit by a selection crisis with midfielders Sami Khedira, Claudio Marchisio and Kwadwo Asamoah, and forward Mario Mandzukic all on the injured list.
PAYING THE PRICE
"We've got a team full of youngsters who need to develop but we need to work to improve the team and bring it up to a certain level," said Allegri. "We're still inexperienced when it comes to reading the game in certain situations and we're currently paying the price with dropped points."
Allegri has been criticised himself over the way he repeatedly switches his formations. On Wednesday, Juve started with a 4-3-3 system but changed to 3-4-1-2 at halftime. "I wanted to stretch the Frosinone defence and find more solidity at the back," said Allegri. "We have many young players who are unaccustomed to being in a big club and they will learn from these errors. We're capable of beating anyone and losing to anyone."
Inter host Fiorentina, who are second after winning four of their five games, at the San Siro on Sunday.
"Four or five wins in a row don't alter the path we're on," said Inter coach Roberto Mancini after Wednesday's 1-0 victory over Verona. "We're putting a few points away for the winter."
