Pirlo reus Juventus’ lack of aggression after draw against Verona

It's a shame because we knew it was going to be a tough, scrappy game but we played well and managed to take the lead. We weren't aggressive enough when they equalised.

Verona [Italy], February 28 (ANI): Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo expressed frustration after being held to a draw by Verona and said that his side was not “aggressive enough” during the match.

Juventus and Verona played out a 1-1 draw in the Serie A here on Sunday.

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“It’s a shame because we knew it was going to be a tough, scrappy game but we played well and managed to take the lead. We weren’t aggressive enough when they equalised. We should have closed them down and details like that can make the difference,” the club’s official website quoted Pirlo as saying.

“In the second half we dropped off a bit when the tempo died down and they managed to carve out openings in the wide areas. I didn’t have the players to play four at the back and once we lost a bit of aggression on [Federico] Chiesa and [Merih] Demiral’s side they managed to get a few crosses in. We were missing lots of players and I asked the more experienced guys like [Cristiano] Ronaldo and Alex Sandro to make themselves heard. It’s not easy playing against Verona with the way they press you,” he added.

During the match, Ronaldo scored the opening goal in the 49th minute. However, Antonin Barak’s strike in the 77th minute levelled the scores and the match concluded on the same.
Securing one point from the game, Juventus now have 46 points and are placed on the third spot, seven points behind table-toppers Inter Milan. Pirlo’s men will next play against Spezia on March 3.