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'Angry' Maurizio Sarri aims dig at Cristiano Ronaldo following Juventus Coppa Italia defeat

Football

By Mirror | Jun 18, 2020

Maurizio Sarri seemed hugely disappointed following the loss (Image: AFP)

Juve were defeated on penalties by Napoli after the match finished goalless in normal time and Sarri admitted many of his players were not at their best

Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri said Cristiano Ronaldo is "lacking sharpness" after his side's penalty defeat to Napoli in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday.

Following a goalless 90 minutes Napoli won the shootout 4-2 after Paulo Dybala and Danilo missed for Juve, with Ronaldo not taking a spot-kick as he was being held back for the fifth one.

The result sees Ronaldo lose consecutive finals for the first time in his career after his side were also defeated by Lazio in the Supercoppa last year, and speaking after the game Sarri admitted the five-time Ballon d'Or winner had not yet hit the heights expected of him since football's return

Speaking to RAI, Sarri said: "He's in the same shape as the others, like Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa, he is lacking the sharpness to do what works best for him.

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"I didn't say much to the players after the game. I was angry and disappointed just like them, so at these moments it's best to stay silent. We'll talk better tomorrow morning."

Juventus are still in a good position to win Serie A, where they sit top of the table but just one point ahead of Lazio, and they resume their campaign on Monday with a trip to Bologna.

Sarri added: "There is disappointment for the club, the players and the fans, but at this moment we cannot do much more, because we are lacking sharpness.

"We were missing a few players and had to make some different choices to usual, because our fitness levels are not optimal. We keep the ball well, but lack the sharpness to turn that into dangerous scoring opportunities.

"We are struggling to get past opposition players when taking men on, we have a team built on individuals who can usually do that very well. I don’t think we’re lacking determination, because we were totally concentrated for 90 minutes and you can’t do that without determination.

"I think the problem is the characteristics, because these are players accustomed to taking men on and at the moment that’s just not coming off."