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‘Our approach was wrong’ – Pirlo pinpoints Juventus flaws in Porto loss

Andrea Pirlo - Juventus
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The Italian champions were clumsy in defense, conceding within 63 seconds of the first half and just 19 seconds into the second one.

Andrea Pirlo insists Juventus weren’t ‘smart’ and made things complicated for themselves in the Champions League clash against FC Porto on Wednesday night.

Juventus suffered a 2-1 defeat at the home of the Portuguese title-holders in the last-16 first-leg tie.

Porto struck early in either half, with Mehdi Taremi capitalizing on a terrible mistake by Rodrigo Bentancur in the second minute of the first one and Moussa Marega slamming a left-footed finish instantly after the break.

Federico Chiesa pulled one back inside the final ten minutes to hand the visitors a valuable away goal.

Speaking after the full-time whistle at Estadio do Dragao, Pirlo expressed frustration at his side’s performance and how they reacted after the first blow.

“We had prepared well for this game, it was not the attitude we wanted, but conceding a goal in the opening minute when we handed it to them on a silver platter made everything more difficult,” the Juventus boss told Sky Sport Italia.

“When you concede a goal after one minute, a strange one at that, it’s natural the players will lose confidence, especially against a side that knows how to clam up in defence.

“Our approach was wrong after we conceded the goal … We had planned on attacking the deeper spaces, but if you take too many touches, things get complicated. We weren’t smart, the ball was moved around too slowly.

“Porto got the game immediately on the track they wanted. With such a packed fixture list, it’s normal you can’t always maintain absolute focus and the right tempo, but it shouldn’t have happened in the round of 16 of the Champions League.”

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