We could have beaten Juventus, says Lazio coach

Rome, Jan 26 (IANS) Lazio head coach Edy Reja said his side could have beaten Juventus and were unlucky in their 1-1 draw against the 10-man Italian Serie A leaders at home.

Juventus, whose goalkeeper Gigi Buffon got his marching orders in the 25th minute, managed to equalise through Fernando Llorente in the second half Saturday, and to Reja’s disappointment, Miroslav Klose and Keita Balde were denied by the woodwork, reports Xinhua.

“We had a terrible start and were slightly nervous under their pressing for 20 minutes. We did better, were a little unlucky to hit the woodwork twice, as we could’ve won,” Reja said.

He suggested that Juventus’ direct attack tactic caused Lazio some trouble.

“The team reacted very well, Klose had two or three good chances and I had hoped we would win. Juventus by-passed the midfield and started to float balls in for Llorente which were very dangerous,” he said.

“Juve are very talented and at a very high level, so it was not easy even against 10 men. We knew that we could have difficulties in the middle and defending on Carlos Tevez and Llorente, so we used a three-man defence and did well to close down their trajectories in the middle.”

“Perhaps we should’ve done better on the counter-attack,” he added.

His Juventus counterpart Antonio Conte insisted that the 1-1 draw proved his side’s title credentials.

“We wanted to win, no matter with 11 men or 10. What we try to drill into the players is a winning mentality and these lads know full well every game must be played to win, even when the goalkeeper is sent off after 25 minutes,” he said.

“I think that in difficult times the men emerge as well as the players, which is what happened,” he said.

He hailed his players’ fighting mentality which could help them win the third Serie A title in a row.

“We picked up a point and I think the team proved again why they are top of the table. Juventus never gave in, continued to play football and trying to win the game despite going down to 10 men,” he said.

“It’s a shame we interrupt the 12 consecutive Serie A victories, but these things happen and Lazio deserve credit for their performance.”