Maurizio Sarri Says Juventus Made 'Soft Errors' in Shock Verona Defeat

Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri has said the team made "soft errors" in their surprise 2-1 loss to Hellas Verona on Saturday. 

The Bianconeri opened the scoring through Cristiano Ronaldo in the second period and appeared on course for a routine victory in Serie A. However, the home side rallied, with goals from Fabio Borini and Giampaolo Pazzini handing Verona a memorable win.

Afterward, Sarri said he was unhappy with various facets of his team's play, noting the lack of focus from his players at critical points and the difference between the home and away form of the team, per Football Italia:

"Evidently we have different performances and results when comparing home form to away. It was a difficult game, we knew it would be and that Verona would make us suffer early on.

"We held out well, hit the woodwork twice, took the lead, but cannot drop points with such soft errors. The first goal was inexplicable, if we want Juventus to win games, we cannot keep making errors caused by a superficial attitude."

"... The mind is the most important thing, because if that is detached then you won't be on the mark tactically. If your mind is also not at 100 per cent, then the physique won't follow."

Ronaldo did brilliantly to give Juventus the lead, leading a counter-attack and finishing with precision:

However, Juventus allowed the home side to get back into the game and Pazzini was able to convert the winner from the spot with four minutes left on the clock:

The defeat for the defending champions keeps the fight for this season's Scudetto fascinating, with Juventus under pressure from Inter Milan and Lazio.

Inter can go level on points with Sarri's side with a win over their local rivals AC Milan on Sunday, while Lazio can close to within a point of the leaders if they win at Parma on the same day.

Sarri's frustration with his players is understandable, as they made some basic mistakes after taking the lead. Miralem Pjanic lost possession cheaply for Verona's equaliser, while Leonardo Bonucci handled in the area to concede the penalty.

Juventus' longstanding dominance of Serie A now appears to be under serious threat. EiF Soccer said the team has performed poorly for long spells of the season:

Broadcaster Mina Rzouki said important lessons should be taken from the defeat:

Following their late collapse at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Juventus will now have to watch on nervously as Inter and Lazio seek to close the gap.

For Sarri and his team, the big challenges keep on coming, as they are in action on Thursday at the San Siro against AC Milan in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final. That encounter would be an ideal time for the Bianconeri to start improving their form away from Turin.