Giorgio Chiellini Laments Juventus' Lack of Focus in Atletico Madrid UCL Loss

Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini has said he and his team-mates were not focused enough in Wednesday's 2-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

Jose Gimenez and Diego Godin scored late goals on set pieces that were cleared poorly by the Bianconeri, giving the hosts a deserved win. Speaking to Sky Sports Italia (h/t Football Italia), Chiellini maintained hope the Italians can turn the tie around:

"Incidents decide games, we knew they were very dangerous on set plays and we should've been more focused. Now we'll hit the reset button and try to turn this around.

"We are certainly not happy, it's a heavy result to fight back from, but we'll give it our all in Turin.

"We started positively, a we knew their qualities, but should've been more focused on the set plays. There are three weeks to prepare and we’ll gamble it all in Turin."

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The two goals came after video assistant replay had already robbed the Rojiblancos of what appeared a legitimate goal from Alvaro Morata. The VAR also correctly overturned a first-half penalty.

Juventus barely mustered any chances, with Leonardo Bonucci heading over their best look on goal. Substitute Federico Bernardeschi put Jan Oblak to work late, and Cristiano Ronaldo had a strong free-kick saved.

The Italians' performance was disappointing, per sportswriter Adam Digby:

Sportswriter Carlo Garganese went in on manager Massimiliano Allegri in particular, noting his negative tactics:

Atletico coach Diego Simeone had used up all of his substitutions before Allegri even made his first, as the former aggressively chased the win and was rewarded.

The latter's job could well be on the line when the two teams meet again in Turin on March 12. The Bianconeri invested heavily in Ronaldo for the sole purpose of winning the Champions League, as they likely wouldn't have needed the 34-year-old to claim an eighth straight Serie A title.

Juventus have failed to fully convince for months, often scraping by domestically while building a significant lead in Serie A. They're unbeaten in that competition, but that likely won't save Allegri if his team is eliminated in the round of 16 of the Champions League.