Massimiliano Allegri admitted that Juventus were “much worse” again after the Bianconeri were eliminated in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday.
Juventus were defeated 1-0 by Inter as Federico Dimarco’s strike in the first half secured a 2-1 overall triumph in the semi-final.
The defeat was Juventus’ fourth defeat in their last six matches in all competitions (W1 D1), the same number of defeats in the previous 25 matches combined.
Their off-pitch saga played out throughout this period, with Juventus’ 15-point deduction in Serie A being undone and Allegri suggesting the Bianconeri had fallen behind since making progress.
Asked about his pre-match comments about Juventus suffering off-field problems, Allegri said: “Nothing, I was only referring to the fact that this is not a normal season.
“We’ve been good so far, but we’re back to being a lot worse.”
The Europa League is Juve’s only chance to win silver this season, with a two-legged encounter against Sevilla to follow in May.
At the very least, Juventus have improved thanks to the elimination of the points deduction, pushing the Bianconeri to third place in Serie A – three points clear of Milan and Roma in fourth and fifth respectively.
Allegri suggested that Juventus have begun to improve their ball game, but the lack of a clear attack remains their weakness.
“We improved our patience [in possession]but when you get to the last third, you have to be more precise in your game,” he added.
“But we need to act, to fight, because we lost too much in the last few games.
“Having said that, we are in the semi-finals of the Europa League and third in the championship.”
Juve had not lost in any of their last five Copa Cup semi-finals against Inter before the loss at the San Siro and Allegri attributed the loss to the Bianconeri faltering at key moments.
The Juventus coach said: “Inter are a strong team, when you play two draws in balanced matches, it’s normal that the moments are decisive.
“The conceded goal was decisive, we played well after the goal, but not very effectively.
“We need to quickly gain strength, on Sunday we have a very difficult game in Bologna.
“We will have a series of difficult games that you have to fight to win. Such games decide moments.