Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was gutted by his side’s dramatic late defeat to Inter in Wednesday’s Supercoppa Italiana, suggesting it was evidence of the “devil” inventing football.
Inter lifted the first piece of silverware of the Italian season thanks to a dramatic 2-1 win, secured with the final kick of the game at the end of extra time.
Weston McKennie had previously given Juve the lead, before a Lautaro Martinez penalty tied it up.
The two teams would remain level throughout the second half and for much of the additional 30 minutes.
That was until an error from Alex Sandro allowed Matteo Darmian to nudge the ball to Alexis Sanchez, who prodded home from close range to spark joyous celebrations.
It was Juve’s 10th successive appearance in the Supercoppa, which pits the Serie A and Coppa Italia winners from the previous season against each other, but they were unable to claim the trophy.
While Inter’s celebrations showed what the success meant to them, Allegri was philosophical yet frustrated by the last-gasp nature of the Nerazzurri’s win.
“This was a real game tonight,” he is quoted as saying by Sky Sport Italia. “It was a good test for us to see where we’re at.
“They boys played a really good game, unfortunately football seems to have been invented by the devil, and five seconds from the end we committed an error.
“We played against the strongest team in Serie A, we had several chances and conceded few. We could have avoided the two goals and done better at the beginning, in the first 10 minutes, when they had the upper hand, but then the team played well technically.
“It is a burning defeat – losing five seconds from the end and seeing the others celebrate hurts. I have nothing to blame,
“Now, awareness and anger must enter us to continue well in the league, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League.
“We have to look on the bright side: the kids are physically better and growing. Tonight did not go well, but now let’s think about Serie A.”