Ivan Juric believes Verona showed their ‘lack of experience’ in the final stages of the 2-2 draw with Milan, having taken a 2-0 lead. ‘We couldn’t keep up.’
Hellas had an aggressive start at San Siro, going 2-0 up through Antonin Barak and a deflected Mattia Zaccagni effort, but Milan fought back with Franck Kessie’s volley.
Ivan Juric believes Verona showed their ‘lack of experience’ in the final stages of the 2-2 draw with Milan, having taken a 2-0 lead. ‘We couldn’t keep up.’
Hellas had an aggressive start at San Siro, going 2-0 up through Antonin Barak and a deflected Mattia Zaccagni effort, but Milan fought back with Franck Kessie’s volley.
It was a siege in the second half, with Marco Silvestri heroics in goal, Zlatan Ibrahimovic missing a penalty, hitting the woodwork, a Davide Calabria goal disallowed until Ibra’s last-gasp header for 2-2.
“We had a great first half, but at a certain stage after the break we just fell away physically and couldn’t keep up with Milan,” the coach told Sky Sport Italia.
“They were winning the aerial challenges with Ibra, but I have to praise the lads because we always manage to play beyond our limitations.
“It is not an easy situation, we changed eight players compared to six months ago. Milan’s superior experience made itself felt in the final minutes.”
Goalkeeper Silvestri performed a series of extraordinary saves to keep the scoreline down.
“Silvestri is working well with our goalkeeping coach, he is improving day by day and doing a fantastic job. I call these players kids not because I want to diminish them or their achievements, but because they are young and largely inexperienced.
“We did what I wanted for 65 minutes, then the lack of character and confidence emerged, as we didn’t win a challenge or keep the ball. Even with that, they are genuinely surprising me this season.”
Juric was asked who he thought would win the Scudetto and took a wider view of the situation.
“I don’t think Juventus will win the way they did last season, they’re not as dominant as in the past. Milan are fantastic, they are young, talented, use a high press, run hard, they’ve got everything it takes, with players like Franck Kessie, Ante Rebic, Ismael Bennacer…
“I think Roma, Napoli and Inter are also very strong, so it won’t be a walk in the park for Juve.”