Pirlo delighted with Juve win but not first-half display at Torino

TURIN:

Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo was delighted with his team's 2-1 win over neighbours Torino in Serie A on Saturday, but not with their first-half performance.

The champions needed two headed goals in the last 15 minutes of the match to come from behind and win the derby.

"When you enter the field and lose all the 50-50 balls in a derby, it is difficult to take control of the game," Pirlo said.

"In the first half we didn't manage to be aggressive, to dribble, and especially to move the ball around quickly, so it became difficult.

"We were too static, we never penetrated the area and that made it difficult to find a way past a five-man defence. It is not enough to have strong players if you don't put in tenacity.

"In the second half we changed gear. Our DNA is to put a lot of heart, a lot of intensity, and we put it in the second half, creating a lot."

Pirlo singled out winger Juan Cuadrado for special praise after the Colombian set up both goals to continue his impressive season.

"Cuadrado is a champion, he’s played at the highest level for 10 years so he’s used to this type of game," Pirlo said.

On the other hand, Pirlo said that Federico Chiesa, signed this season from Fiorentina, needed more experience.

"Until some time ago, Chiesa had never played a European match and now plays for Juve. But we must persist with these quality youngsters," he said.

Torino coach Marco Giampaolo, whose side have won only one of their first 10 league games, was left frustrated after watching his team lead for nearly 70 minutes before conceding two late goals.

"We lost in on the details, overall we played the game as we should have done," he said.

"It’s about how we track back, how we defend, how we cover the spaces and our positioning. We had done it all so well but a few errors and we get punished."