Juventus boss Thiago Motta criticized his side's mentality after they were defeated by AC Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final on Friday.
Motta's side led for much of the match after Kenan Yildiz's goal in the first half, but squandered their lead in the second period, with Christian Pulisic and a Federico Gatti own goal doing the damage in the final 20 minutes.
It is the fourth time in eight games that Juve have taken the lead and not won, with Motta criticized in some quarters for his substitutions.
But the Italian was more inclined to question the character of his players.
He said: “We certainly can't be happy with what we did, especially in the first half. In the second half we also failed to convert the chances to kill the game.”
“Milan also did very little, so they shouldn't have been able to win.
“All the choices I make during the match are in the interest of the team, it is up to you to judge whether I did well or not.
“We have to improve our character because we were in control. Character comes into play when a negative incident happens and you have to be able to respond. The first negative incident today we didn't respond.”
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There is still a lot to achieve this season for Juventus, who are three points off the top four in Serie A and two points behind the automatic qualification positions in the Champions League.
They hope to be able to compete on both fronts with Francisco Conceicao, who withdrew from the starting line-up with a muscle injury.
Motta said: “We will evaluate him, he felt a twinge and could not start the match.
“He is an important player for us, in the second half we needed something extra and he could have given us that.
“We have players who work very hard and play a lot. We have to balance playing time.”
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